Inactive Story READ THE NEW VERSION!
by Indigo-Roses
Summary: Please go to my account and find the NEW AND IMPROVED version of this story !
1. REVISION NOTICE! DO NOT ADD TO FAVS

I have officially decided to re-write this story all together, so if you want to read it, go to my account and click the NEW Mata Ashita link to read the first chapter. I won't be posting anything in this story anymore. I will also be deleting chapters as I continue with re-writing it. SO DO NOT ADD THIS STORY TO YOUR FAVORITES OR ALERTS!


	2. The Twins' Suspension

04: The Twins' Suspension

That afternoon, Sakura was introduced to one of the most common practices of the host club: Cosplay.

"Cosplay?" Sakura repeated when Kyouya mentioned it to her about half an hour before activities were due to begin.

"Today's theme is Masquerade."

"Yes…Masquerade!"

Tamaki stood up from the couch he had been sitting next to Haruhi on, "The elegance of the early 19th century! A time of flowing ball gowns, elaborate masks, dancing, enjoying the company of one another."

"So...we're dressing up today?" Sakura sat down in a nearby chair.

Kyouya nodded and adjusted his glasses some.

Sakura beamed at the thought of waltzing around the room a gorgeous ballroom gown. Slightly lost in a trance, it took a few calls of her name before she snapped out of her daze and began helping the rest of the Hosts decorate the room. The entire ordeal took all of twenty minutes a, 10 minutes dedicated to changing and getting on make-up. When all was set and ready, The hosts lined themselves up in front of the door and greeted the customers as they came, and thus, club activities began.

"Tamaki-kun." Sakura overheard a girl saying as she was wrapped in the arms of the Prince, "Why do you hide your face from me with that mask?"

"My shyness has taken over me." He said softly, "I'm afraid to show my face to someone as beautiful as you."

Sakura rolled her eyes slightly and turned her attention back to the customers her and Haruhi were serving.

"Sakura-chan, your dress is so beautiful!" said the slender brunette as she looked over the burgundy dress.

"Thank-you so much." She smiled and adjusted the mask on her face.

"Haruhi-kun, you're outfit matches so perfectly with Sakura's." The blonde said and smiled, "You two look like a doll set!"

"Thank-you." Haruhi smiled softly through her mask.

"Do you two like matching like this?" A brown-haired girl asked and took a sip of her tea.

"We don't do it that often, but it's fun when we do." Haruhi gently pulled off her mask and scratched her forehead, "But at the same time, a bit embarrassing. You know…to admit that we're so close that we're willing to dress alike the way twins would."

The girls let out squeals of excitement and gripped each other hands. Sakura giggled and shook her head, then leaned over and whispered in Haruhi's ear, "Told you it would work."

Haruhi rolled her eyes and put her mask back on and the girls continued their onslaught of questions. Most of them were targeted at Haruhi, so Sakura took the opportunity to finish up her song. She'd managed to finish the rest of it before host activites began, and now all that was left to do was edit and begin thinking of a tune. Excusing herself from the table, she stood up and made her way across the room to where her bag was and pulled her notebook out.

"Okay…"

Sakura flipped the notebook open and began walking back to the table, but before she made it, someone dashed by and snatched the notebook from her hands. It all happened so quickly that she couldn't see who it was, but as the culprit dashed across the room, Sakura was able to identify it as one of the twins. Hikaru.

"Hikaru! Give it back!"

Most of the hosts and the customers watched as Sakura went after the twin. Just as she was about to grab Hikaru's shoulder, the twin threw it across the room to Kaoru who began flipping through the pages.

"Kaoru, no!"

She turned on her heel and tried to go after him, but instead of moving forward, she lost her balance. Her heel slid on the floor and made her collapse and slide right into a nearby table, causing the table leg to sink in and the table to fall. The tea cups and teapot all crashed on top of her, scorching her face, and finally, the table itself fell over and landed on her waist

"Sakura!" came the shouts of various hosts.

Sakura couldn't move. She held her arms with her eyes shut tight, whimpering slightly. A pair of strong arms soon wrapped themselves around her and lifted her up. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself looking up at Tamaki.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I.." No words could form.

Kaoru dropped Sakura's notebook on the floor and came over, "S-Sakura-chan…"

"Stay away from her!" Haruhi pushed Tamaki aside and stood in front of him, "This is your fault! She fell because you two insisted on seeing her notebook after she told you not to at lunch."

Kaoru's jaw dropped and he held his head low. Hikaru held his hands up, "We're sorry! Really, we didn't mean for her to get hurt. We weren't really gonna read anything we were just messing around. We swear – "

"Your messing around caused a serious injury!" Tamaki interjected loudly.

He heaved a sigh and gingerly handed Sakura over to Mori, then placed both hands on his hips, "I warned you already. If you did something like that again, you'd both be out of the Host Club."

"M-my lord, you can't be serious!" Kaoru's head shot up, "Y-you can't – "

"Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, for the next 2 weeks, you two are suspended from all Host Club activities!"

-------


	3. The Missing Notebook

05: Sakura's Song Lyrics…Gone

In the end, Sakura's injuries were nothing more than a few burns and an aching waist. The fact was quite a relief to the Host Club and its customers, but there was no such relief for Sakura. The pain had slowly been dying down throughout the rest of the day, and by the time school was over, the pain was minimal to none, but the pain of the twins being suspended stayed with her for quite some time.

"I wish there was something I could do to make things better…maybe I could talk senpai into letting the twins back." Sakura said as she walked down the hall with Haruhi, "It was all just an accident."

"I think he's pretty much set on not letting the twins back in for two weeks like he said." Haruhi replied with a soft sigh, "No matter what you say."

"It's still worth a try though." They approached Sakura's locker.

Haruhi shrugged a little and watched as Sakura opened her locker. A small gasp left her lips and she shoved her books into Haruhi's hands.

"S-sakura-chan, what is it?"

Sakura smiled and pulled a bouquet of pink roses wrapped in white paper and tied with a pink bow out of the locker. Haruhi's jaw dropped.

"Who are they from?"

Sakura opened the card attached to the ribbon. _To Sakura, from Kyouya._ Sakura smiled and felt her cheeks get warm. She knew she was blushing, but she really didn't care.

"Just…someone." Sakura said and closed her locker back.

"Who was it? The twins?"

"No." Sakura shook her head and laughed, "Don't worry about it Haruhi."

Haruhi rolled her eyes a little and followed the partially dazed Sakura down the hall and out of the school building.

The next day, Sakura was all smiles. The flowers from Kyouya had made her extremely giddy and she just couldn't kick the feeling.

"You're still as optimistic as yesterday."

Haruhi approached Sakura in the hall and walked next to her as they went to Sakura's locker.

"I can't help it. The flowers were gorgeous. I can't get over the fact that Kyouya-senpai thought of me and gave them to me like that."

"So they were from Kyouya-senpai?" Haruhi looked over at her, "Interesting…"

"Hm? How so?"

"Senpai…isn't the type of person to do that kind of thing. That's more Tamaki-senpai's style.'

Sakura shrugged, "I don't care. I can't wait to see him. I have to thank him. Oh, and look what I made last night!"

She pointed to the flower clip in her hair and Haruhi smiled a little, "Creative."

Sakura nodded, "Mhm. Took me a while and I think destroyed about 5 of the roses, but it turned out okay in the end."

Just then, the bell signaling the start of History class rang and Haruhi's jaw dropped slightly, "We're late!"

"Oh, relax, Haruhi. That was just the warning bell." Sakura grabbed her step-sister's hand and dragged her towards the classroom.

The classroom was about halfway full and students were sitting in chairs and on top of desks talking to one another. Some of them smiled and waved to Haruhi and Sakura as they entered. Sakura smiled and jogged over to her desk and hopped up onto it.

"Hi, Sakura." came the voice of a nearby boy with dark brown hair and purplish eyes, "I heard about your accident. How are you doing?"

"Hey, Matsuri. And I'm fine." Sakura kicked her legs, "What about your brother? Didn't you say yesterday he went to the hospital?"

"Oh yeah, but it wasn't as serious as we thought." Matsuri said smiling, "It was just an infection that went down to his…pancreas or something. I don't remember the details He should be fine in a few days."

"That's good to hear."

Matsuri nodded and brushed a lock of hair out of his face and glanced at the back of the room, "Looks like they're at it again."

"Huh?" Sakura looked to where Matsuri was staring, "Who?"

"The Hitachiin twins. They're back to staying in their own little world." Matsuri nodded at Hikaru and Kaoru who were, Sakura had just noticed, sitting towards the back looking at Hikaru's cell phone, "They won't talk to anyone. Usually they're up and around talking to as many people as they can. But now…it's like we're back in middle school."

"What do you mean?" Sakura said, not taking her eyes off the twins.

"Back in middle school, they were – "

Before Matsuri could continue his story, the history teacher came in and announced the official start of class. Sakura climbed off the desk and sunk down into her chair. During class, she occasionally glanced back at the twins who didn't even acknowledge her existence. She began to wonder if they would treat her differently over the next two weeks. The mere thought of being ignored by them made her stomach churn. She'd only known them for a short while, but Sakura really liked the twins.

_I hope they don't hate me…_

The day continued on and the twins didn't pay anyone from the Host Club any mind. They even went as far as sitting at a different table at lunch. Sakura sighed as she picked at her lunch and waited for the rest of the Hosts to arrive.

"What's the matter, Saku-chan?" came Honey's sweet voice and he slid into the seat next to her, "You look so sad."

"It's Hikaru and Kaoru." Sakura pointed her fork at them, "They're acting so…distant."

"It's because they're mad at themselves." Tamaki said and sat down across from her, "They know that what they did was wrong, so their avoiding anyone who may remind them of that."

Sakura sighed a little and looked up Tamaki, "Senpai…it was all just a big accident, don't you think banning them for two weeks was a bit drastic?"

Tamaki sighed a little and looked over at the twins, "Two weeks may be a bit much…now that I think about it…"

"Can they come back then?"

"No." Tamaki shook his head, "But I will shorten the ban to one week instead of two. There has to be some sort of consequence."

Sakura nodded a little and took a small bite of her lunch. Soon, Kyouya joined the group and Sakura's face instantly lit up and she stood to her feet.

"What's the matter, Sakura?" Haruhi questioned.

Sakura didn't respond. Instead she walked around the table to where Kyouya was sitting. Kyouya didn't look up at her or even acknowledge her.

"Thank-you, Kyouya-senpai." And Sakura bent down and wrapped her arms around the bespectacled boy in a hug, "For the flowers."

"Y-you sent her flowers?!" Tamaki's face fell.

"Yes he did, and I loved them." Sakura smiled and hugged him tighter, "I even made a hair clip with one of them."

"Kyouya…how could you…?"

"I wasn't aware that giving someone flowers was a bad thing." Kyouya adjusted his glasses and patted Sakura's hands, "You're welcome. You can let me go now."

Sakura laughed and let him go, then pecked his cheek before sitting back down in her own chair. Tamaki's jaw had hit the floor.

"S-sakura…m-my daughter…she…Kyouya…"

After lunch, it came time for Host activities. Sakura was still smiling brightly feeling optimistic as ever. Her positive vibe seemed to be having an affect on everyone in the room, as they were all smiling and socializing. There was no theme for that day, so, everyone sat at tables and drank tea and ate cake. At a small table near the window sat Haruhi, Sakura, and 3 girls.

"I was worried sick about her." Haruhi said and took a sip of her tea.

"Oh, Haruhi-kun…." cooed one of the girls.

Haruhi smiled softly, "But she's okay. And I'm happy."

"Haruhi." Sakura put her hand on Haruhi's, "You didn't have to worry so much about me."

"I couldn't help it." Haruhi put her other hand atop Sakura's.

The girl's were teary-eyed and gripping tightly to each other, "They love each other so much…" said one girl.

"It's so sweet…"

"I've never seen such a passionate love!"

The girls squealed and Sakura giggled, winking at Haruhi. Haruhi simply smiled. Another perfectly played out scene and the customers loved it. Haruhi and Sakura were a dream team. Haruhi's designation count had been steadily increasing since her step-sister's arrival and all of the Hosts were noticing it. Especially Tamaki. He peered over his shoulder at the table and his face fell.

"Mom…" he mumbled.

"Yes….Dad?" Kyouya replied as he wrote in his notebook.

"What's going on? Why are they so popular? They have more designations than me today!"

"Sakura's accident." The shadow king replied flatly, "It has stirred the hearts of our customers and…well…you can see the results yourself."

While Tamaki sulked and stared at the pair, Sakura was chatting hapily the customers and one of them commented on Sakura's hairpiece.

"It's so pretty, Sakura! Where did you buy it?"

"I didn't buy it." She touched the clip on her head and smiled, "I made it."

"Ohh…could you make one for me? But in blue?"

"I'd love to." Sakura smiled.

"Me too!"

"I want one!"

"Okay, okay." Sakura laughed a little, "Let me get your names and I'll make them tonight."

Sakura bent over and reached into her bag for her notebook, but came up with nothing.

_Where is it…?_

She continued to dig around but still, there was no notebook. He stomach lurched.

"My notebook…Haruhi…" She looked over at her stepsister, "My notebook is gone."

Haruhi's jaw dropped slightly, "T-that means…"

"My lyrics are gone too…."


	4. The Culprit

06: The Culprit

"When did you last have it, Sakura?" Haruhi said standing up.

"Uhh…" Sakura stood up as well and thought back to all the occasions she had her notebook with her, "I last had it before the twins took it yesterday. After I fell, I asked Honey-senpai to put it in my bag before Mori took me to the infirmary."

"I'll be right back." Haruhi said to the customers and quick-stepped over to where Honey was happily eating a large piece of Pound-cake.

"Haru-chan!" He smiled, "Did you come for some cake? I've got lots left!"

"No, senpai, I need to ask you something." Haruhi leaned down on the table, "Senpai, think, what did you do with Sakura's notebook yesterday?"

"Hmmm…" Honey took another bite of cake, "I put it in her bag like she asked me to. Why?"

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm!" He nodded, "What happened?"

Haruhi sighed a little and stood up straight, "Sakura's notebook is gone."

Honey's eyes widened, "Saku-chan's notebook is gone?!"

As soon as the word 'gone' left Honey's lips, everyone directed their attention towards Honey and began murmuring to one another. Sakura stood up and went over to Haruhi and Honey.

"Gomen, Sakura!" Honey said, his eyes beginning to water.

"It's not your fault, senpai!" Sakura said, sounding a bit panicked as she didn't want Honey to cry.

"Yes it is!" Honey got out of his chair and tackled Sakura in a hug, "Gomen! Gomen, Saku-chan! I thought I put it back in the bag!"

Sakura sighed and hugged Honey back, "S-senpai, you didn't – "

"Mitskuni." came a gruff voice suddenly. Honey pulled away from Sakura and looked up at Mori, "You didn't loose it."

Honey sniffled, then nodded, but still sulked slightly as he sat back down at the table. Mori moved over to comfort the blonde. Sakura sighed a little and ran her fingers through her hair.

"This is bad, this is really bad! Someone stole my notebook!" she said and rubbed her hands together, "If they read the lyrics…"

"Calm down, Sakura, we'll find them." Haruhi put a comforting arm around Sakura, "They're around here somewhere. I don't think anyone stole them."

"Alright. Everyone, listen!"

Tamaki punched his fist into his hand and a serious expression came over his face.

"These lyrics are of the utmost importance to Sakura and, until they are found, will be of the utmost importance to us as well. We will not rest until they are found and are safely back in Sakura's hands."

And the search began. With the help of the customers, the room was torn apart and searched from head to toe. But still, no sign of the lyrics. Sakura heaved a sigh and sat down in a chair at the table where Kyouya sat typing on his laptop. He'd yet to move from his spot.

"Kyouya-senpai, could you please help look?"

"There's really no need to be all panicked about the notebook." He replied, adjusting his glasses a little, "Rest assured, it's in safe hands."

Sakura gave the bespectacled boy a questioning look, "How do you know?"

_No…you didn't…Kyouya…_

"Senpai…Did you take my notebook?"

"Yes."

Sakura sat there, not only appalled at the fact that Kyouya had taken them, but shocked that he'd come out with it so easily. Angrily, she stood up and slammed the top of Kyouya's laptop down. His fingers were almost caught (Sakura was hoping that they actually WOULD get caught for once, but it didn't happen), but he pulled away quickly and laced his fingers together, then looked up at Sakura.

"You'll damage my laptop if you keep that up." He said non-chalantly.

"How could you do that, Kyouya?! Why did you do it?" Sakura growled, not all caring if his laptop were damaged, "You've been so nice to me! You gave me the flowers, the bracelet…and then...I can't believe you did it!"

Everyone had stopped searching and was watching the scene unfold. Kyouya didn't respond at all. He merely let out a soft sigh, and a slight chuckle. Clearly, he was amused.

"No need to be so angry."

"No need to be angry? Kyouya...you stole from me! You went into my bag and you stole my lyrics. I thought I'd made it clear that no one could look at them." Sakura glared at him, "You were the last person I'd suspect. You're always so…you…I just can't believe you!"

Sakura took a deep breath and covered her face, attempting to calm herself down, "Just give me my notebook back."

"I can't."

Sakura slowly moved her hands from her face and looked at him, "What do you mean you can't?"

"They're no longer in my possession." Kyouya pushed his glasses farther up his nose.

"Y-you handed them off to someone?" Sakura's voice was getting shaky. She just couldn't understand it, "Y-you gave my lyrics…m-my notebook to someone else?!"

"Yes."

"Why?!" Sakura let out a frustrated groan, "God, Kyouya, how can you just sit there like that as if there's absolutely nothing wrong? Why are you so heartless?!"

"I'm not heartless." He snapped back almost immediately, "This is mere research. And in the end, you, I, and the host club will benefit. I'm doing this for you. Doing what you should have done a long time ago."

"Benefit? Wh-what?"

Sakura couldn't even think of anymore words to say. She was to angry. With a frustrated groan, she ripped the flower clip from her hair and slammed it down on the table, then pulled off her bracelet and threw it back at him. And finally, she reached across and smacked him. Plain and simple. She smacked him across the face. Gasps filled the room. Murmurs followed. Kyouya sat, his head cocked slightly to the side. Not speaking. Not moving. He didn't even seem to be breathing. Slowly, he placed his hand on his cheek, touching the newly formed bleeding cut on his face.

"Sakura." Tamaki came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulder, pulling her away from the table, "That was uncalled for."

"Uncalled for?" Sakura ripped away from the Prince, "He stole my notebook and handed them off to someone else! If anyone should be out of the Host Club now, it should be him! Not the twins."

Tamaki shook his head, "I can't do that."

"Why?" She glared at him, "B-because he's your friend?! Because he helps with the club? So, he can do something wrong and get away with it, but the twins do something on accident and get kicked out? You and this club are twisted."

She forcefully shoved him, "I'm leaving! I quit the Host Club!"


	5. Rain Dance

07: Rain Dance

The room was silent. The customers were gone. Dark gray rain clouds were beginning to cover the clear blue afternoon sky, obstructing the bright sunlight and dimming the Third Music Room. The remaining hosts sat around a large Oakwood table at the center of the room and contemplated the events of club activities that day.

"Kyouya…" Tamaki said almost silently as he looked out the window at the clouds, "This plan of yours…it had better work."

"It will." the bespectacled boy said in reply, "Granted, Sakura's leaving and twin's suspension was not a part of the original plan, but I can adjust accordingly."

"No." Tamaki said firmly and stared at Kyouya, "The twins will definitely still be a part of this. They have to be. Especially Kaoru."

Haruhi gave the King a questioning look, "What do you mean by that?"

Tamaki's gaze turned to Haruhi and he smiled softly, then put his finger over his lips and whispered, "Se-cr-et."

Haruhi wanted to press the subject, but Tamaki winked and turned away from her and back to the window.

Honey was finishing off a piece of chocolate cake, "I feel bad though." He stuck the final bite in his mouth and swallowed, "Lying like that about Saku-chan's notebook."

"Techinically you didn't lie." Kyouya adjusted his glasses, "You did put her notebook in her bag. No one here actually lied about anything."

"The whole scene was a lie." Haruhi sighed and leaned her cheek against her hand, "Pretending that we didn't know anything…"

"Don't worry about it, Haruhi." Kyouya began jotting down something in his notebook, "This will all pay off in the end."

"But was it really necessary to steal the notebook?" Haruhi closed her eyes, "We could have just asked her for it."

Kyouya stopped writing for a moment, only to glance at Haruhi while he answered, "And she would have said no."

Haruhi sighed as she opened her eyes and looked upon the face of the Shadow King. After he had finished writing in his notebook, he snapped it shut and pulled his silver laptop from his bag. After booting it up, his fingers raced across the keyboard and the sound of tapping filled the room.

Meanwhile, Sakura was making her way down the hall. Alone. Upset.

_That idiot. Why would he do that? What is he doing with them? Something I should have done a long time ago…that makes no sense. I'll never get over this. I hate him. To think…I'd started to like that guy…_

Sakura was so busy contemplating her thoughts that she wasn't paying much attention to where she was going and slammed into a tall, male someone. She stumbled back a little and threw her arms out to keep herself from falling, then looked up into the hazel eyes of the one she'd bumped into.

"Hikaru…? Wait…Kaoru?"

"That's right." He smiled and laughed a little.

Sakura smiled a little, "Haruhi-kun isn't the only one who can tell you two apart. By the way, where is Hikaru? It's odd seeing you two apart."

"He left his bag in the chemistry classroom." Kaoru put his hands into his pockets, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Host Club?"

Sakura's smile faded and she clenched her teeth, "I'm not going back there. I quit."

Kaoru gasped slightly, "W-what? Why?"

"Kyouya-senpai stole my notebook." Sakura heaved a sighed and looked over at the lockers

Kaoru's eyes widened for a second, but a small – almost invisible – smile appeared on his face _Looks like we really are going to do this for her_

"Then he handed it off to someone else. He didn't get in trouble or anything for it either. Tamaki-senpai just said that he couldn't do anything to him. I didn't think it was fair. Especially since you and Hikaru got suspended. What happened to me was an accident. Kyouya purposely stole from me. That should be worth suspension. Right?"

She looked back at him as she said 'right' and snapped Kaoru from his thoughts. He nodded, despite the fact that he had no idea what he was agreeing to, "Y-yeah. Right."

For a moment, the twin just stared down at Sakura. Her eyes, usually brown, had somehow changed to green.

"Sakura…your eyes change colors?"

"Hm? Oh…" she laughed a little, "Yeah. They change every now and again. Sometimes their brown, sometimes blue, sometimes green, there was even one time when my mom said they turned lavender or something. Anyway, they'll change more often if I'm upset or mad or something."

"I'm back, Kaoru!" Hikaru came jogging down the hall, bag in hand, towards his brother. His eyes landed on Sakura, "Oi, Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?"

"She quit the Host Club." Kaoru looked over at his twin, "Kyouya stole her notebook."

Hikaru looked back at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes, and then he mouthed, "The plan already started?"

"Yeah." Kaoru mouthed back.

Sakura looked at the two questioningly, "What did you guys say…?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing!" The said in unison, "Nothing at all."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

Sakura smiled a little and looked over at the window. The cloud was growing darker and darker with every second that passed.

"It's going to rain." Sakura said softly, "I hope Haruhi will be okay…"

"Well, how about you go back to the Host Club…" Hikaru leaned Sakura's left shoulder.

Kaoru leaned on her right, "And find out."

"Absolutely not." Sakura shook her head, "I'm not going back."

The twins sighed and shrugged a little, then looked out the window as well. There was a loud clap of thunder, a flash of lightening, and rain began to pour. A smile crept over Sakura's face.

"I love it when it rains."

For a second she just stood there and stared out the window, then, she grabbed both the twin's hands and began running down the hall. The twins stumbled to keep up.

"Sakura-chan, where are we going?" Kaoru questioned.

"Outside to the courtyard!"

And she hastened her step. In a matter of minutes, Sakura and the twins had jogged all the way out to the courtyard and were standing looking at the rain.

"We shouldn't be out here." Kaoru said.

"Why not?" Sakura said, "Class doesn't start for another 15 minutes!"

"Yeah, but – "

Kaoru didn't even bother finishing his sentence as he knew Sakura was not listening. In fact, she'd begun to walk away from the twins and towards the rain.

"Don't go out there!" Hikaru called to her loudly as to overpower the sound of the rain, "You'll get – "

"Wet?" Sakura called back laughing, "That's the point!"

And Sakura stepped out into the rain and spinning in circles, immediately getting soaked. The twins sighed in unison, but watched her spin around with a smile. Kaoru was most intrigued. Her eyes, which had changed back to brown after complaining about Kyouya, had faded to a dusty hazel color that went perfectly with her light brown, almost dirty blonde colored hair. A broad smile was on her face and, as she stopped spinning and stood still, she let out a laugh and looked up at the sku. She looked so incredibly happy at that moment that Kaoru didn't want to be the one to break her from it. But, if he didn't, it wouldn't be long before the three of them got in trouble. And so, he called out to her and told her to come back. Reluctantly, she walked back over.

"That was fun." She smiled and bunched her hair to the side of her head, then squeezed out the water.

"You're going to get in so much trouble in class." Hikaru laughed.

"I will not. I'll just say I got caught in the rain."

"That would be a lie. You didn't get caught in the rain. You went out into the rain on purpose." Kaoru said and crossed his arms over his chest.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him playfully, then squeezed what ever water was left she could out of her hair. After flipping it back over her shoulders and shaking the excess water off her arms and hands, she grabbed Kaoru by the hand and led him inside. Kaoru just smiled and motioned for Hikaru to follow. Once inside, Sakura bade the twins goodbye, as she had science next, and headed down the hall to the lab. The twins followed her with their eyes. Kaoru seemed happier now than before Sakura had appeared, and Hikaru noticed it. Smirking slightly, he grabbed his brother by the arm and dragged him down the hall in the opposite direction.

"Ah-Ah-Hikaru!" Kaoru said, almost falling over when his brother dragged him, "Where are we going?"

"Class, lover-boy."

"What did you just call me?"

"Lover-boy." Hikaru's smirk grew, "Don't try to hide it, Kaoru. I know you like Sakura."

"H-Hikaru!" Kaoru's cheeks tinged pink, "That's not true."

Hikaru laughed, "Whatever you say, Kaoru."

"I'm serious!"

"Whatever you say…"


	6. Invasion of the Female Manager

08:: Invasion of the Female Manager

For the next week, Sakura spent most of her time with Haruhi and the twins. Really, those were the only people she was willing to see. Kyouya, of course, was on the top of her 'People-I-Despise' list, and Tamaki wasn't much farther down that list. She was not happy with either Host. When the week came to end, Sakura remembered that the twins' suspension was up and they could safely return to the Host Club. Knowing that, she began to avoid the twins, as they would most likely try to get her to go back to the club. And so, for two days after the twins' reinstatement, Sakura kept her distance from the twins.

"Sakura, this is starting to get ridiculous." Haruhi said through the girl's bathroom door, "All you have to do is tell the twins you don't want to go back."

"You know as well as I do that they won't settle for that." Sakura called from the opposite side of the door. She slid down to the floor with her back against it.

Haruhi sighed, "Why aren't you going back to the host club, again?"

"Because I can't stand Tamaki or Kyouya."

"Dislike isn't a reason to stop doing something you enjoy."

"Who said I enjoyed the Host Club? That crazy…unorthodox club…"

Haruhi sighed a little and scratched the back of her head, "It is a little crazy. And there really is no point to it. And it's members are annoying, and it's two wasted hours out of everyday that could be spent studying or something like that…"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Haruhi, wasn't there a point to this?"

"Huh? Oh!" Haruhi shook her head, "Right. It is an unorthodox club, but you do enjoy it. Just like I do."

Sakura sighed a little and pulled her knees to her chest, "I don't know…"

"Just come back for today." Haruhi looked over at the door as if it were Sakura, "If you absolutely can't stand it, then you can leave for good."

Sakura, heaving yet another sigh, reluctantly stood up and opened the bathroom door. Haruhi smiled a little.

"Fine."

And Haruhi led Sakura to the Third Music Room. With a deep breath, Sakura pushed the large door open and found herself standing in front of the Host Club, clad in Doctor Coats.

"Welcome!" The all chimed.

Sakura couldn't help but smile in response as she waited for them to realize it was her and Haruhi who'd entered and not Host Club Customers.

"It's just Haruhi and Sakura." Hikaru said and put his hands on his hips.

Kaoru mimicked his brother, "Good job, Haruhi! You brought her back!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow and looked over at Haruhi, "They put you up to it?"

"No!" Haruhi put her hands up defensively, "I did on my own."

"Haruhi…"

"Does it matter who was the mastermind behind bringing you back to us?" Tamaki stood up from his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, "What matters is that you're here."

"For one day." Sakura glared at the King, "Unless something significant happens that convinces me to stay, I'm leaving for good after today."

"Well then, Hosts," Tamaki smirked, "We'll do everything in our power to make her stay."

"Good luck with that…" Sakura mumbled.

"Can we move on now?" Kyouya adjusted his glasses, "The customers will be arriving soon."

"Right!" Tamaki clapped his hands together, "Hikaru! Kaoru! Get these two in costume immediately!"

Hikaru and Kaoru stepped out of position and in front of the girls, grabbing each by the arm and dragging them back towards the dressing area. The entire ordeal of getting dressed (plus the added argument with Hikaru about Sakura being forced into a pair of black stiletto heels) took about 10 minutes. In the end, Haruhi was wearing a white lab coat identical to the rest of the host, a pair of black pants, a white shirt and a black tie. Sakura, being the only official girl in the club, was given the task of playing the part of a nurse. And so, she didn't get a slim white lab coat and pants. She got a tight, short sleeved shirt and white mini-skirt. Along with the outfit, she wore a white nurses' cap and the heels she'd fought so hard to NOT have to wear, and was given a clipboard to hold to top it all off.

"Saku-chan, you're so cute!" Honey said and jumped onto her back, "Kawaii! Kawaii!"

"Thank-you, senpai." Sakura stumbled a little as she attempted to keep her balance, "Senpai?"

"Hm?"

"Isn't your outfit a bit big for you?"

Honey's outfit was indeed a bit big for him. The coat specifically. It was about 3 sizes to big. The sleeves covered his arms completely and the back trailed behind him.

"Yeah, it is." the blonde smiled, "But doesn't it look cuter that way?"

He jumped off Sakura's back and spun around a couple times, being careful not to trip over the coat, and smiled, then made his way back over to Mori. Sakura shook her head _He is in a league of his own…_Shortly after, Host Club activities officially began. The twins proposed that Sakura sit with them that day (for what reason, Sakura was unsure) instead of Haruhi, and so, she sat in between them at a table near the window.

"You guys look so cute together!" The brunette said smiling, "You all match!"

The twins smiled, "All the outfits you see today were provided by our mother's clothing line."

Hikaru pointed at Sakura, "Her outfit was specially made for her figure and was made to match ours more so than Haruhi's."

"Isn't Haruhi upset about not getting to sit with Sakura today?" a blonde asked.

"Not at all!" Kaoru beamed, "In fact, Haruhi was the one who suggested it. As a couple, it's only natural that the two would want a little time apart now and then."

_You liars…_

"Sakura-chan, don't you feel upset about being away from Haruhi?"

"Not really." Sakura smiled a little, "It's just for 2 hours. Besides, I get along with the twins just fine."

"Sakura, you don't have to be so modest." Hikaru said into her ear softly, but still loud enough for the girls to hear.

"Huh?"

"Being around us, such tightly bonded twins, is only a girl's ultimate romantic fantasy, correct?" Kaoru spoke into her other ear, "There's no need to hide it."

"Umm…wait…wha…"

_Wait, this is part of their brotherly love act. They're just throwing me in the mix this time around…I have to play along._

Sakura let out a soft sigh and laced her fingers together in her lap, then looked down, "I didn't think you guys knew."

"Of course we did." Hikaru took one of Sakura's hands.

"How could we not?" Kaoru took her other.

"I tried so hard to hide it though…" Sakura forced herself to blush.

The girls were staring intently, holding their breaths and gripping to their teacups.

Hikaru lifted Sakura's hand up and onto his cheek, "You can come play with us more often you want."

Kaoru did the same with Sakura's other hand, "We won't mind."

To end the scene, the boys pecked Sakura on either side of her neck. The girls couldn't hold in their squeals of delight.

"It's so beautiful!"

"They're sharing their love with another, but they're still so close together!"

"She has to stay with them. She has to!"

Sakura stifled a laugh and smiled as the twins pulled away from her, smirking.

"You're a natural at this." Kaoru whispered.

Sakura shrugged, "What can I say?"

Suddenly, the ground began to vibrate. Tables shook, teacups clattered on their plates. The vibrating grew more and more intense.

"Ohohohohohohohohohoho!"

Following the mysterious laugh was the low rumble of machinery. Gradually, it grew There came more laughter, and a large rotating .machine of some sort rose from the ground. Atop it was a girl with long brown hair. She struck a pose for a moment, then pointed at Sakura and the twins.

"Such a beautiful expression of love! So pure!"

Sakura was half scared, half confused, "Who is that?" She questioned to no one in particular.

Kaoru responded, "Renge."

----


	7. Renge's Plan

09:: Renge's Plot

(Your POV)

All movement in the room stopped at Renge's appearance. She stood atop her machine with a microphone in her hand and her finger pointing at Sakura and the twins.

"Such a major change in the world of the twins!" She exclaimed, "They're usual rebelious nature, their tendency to push others away and escape into their own world has been altered. First, it was by Haruhi-kun's appearance, when the wall standing between the twins and the real world was punctured. And now, Sakura's appearance has caused the wall to collapse! We've reached a new frontier everyone."

Sakura stared at the girl, an expression that said she was lost on her face. _What is up with this girl?_

"Renge-kun." Came a sudden voice from behind Sakura, "Might you consider appearing after the club is closed?"

Kyouya was standing behind Sakura's chair. Instead of his usual notebook, he clutching a clipboard.

"This matter needs to be addressed immediately!" Renge hopped off her machine, "Everyone, out! The club is closed for today!"

Tamaki, who had been sitting on the couch with his arms around two girls, promptly got to his feet.

"Renge-kun, do you think we could maybe address this matter after club activities? As the king, I think – "

"You know as well as I do that you're not fit for the role as king!"

Tamaki's face fell.

"Kyouya-kun...he's the king. You, you're just obnoxious, loud, and annoying! You're not worthy of any authority!"

Sakura's jaw dropped slightly. _Wow…_Tamaki looked utterly and completely appalled. Legs wobbling, he slowly sat back down and began mumbling incoherently to himself.

"Now, everyone, OUT!"

The girls obeyed Renge's command and filed out of the room. The hosts (excluding Tamaki who was still sulking on the couch) said thier good-byes to the customers and closed the doors once the last of the girls were out. Renge took a seat at the twins' and Sakura's table and gingerly picked up a tea cup.

"Now, what was that all about, Renge-chan?" Said Hikaru, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What could be so urgent that we ended our activities early?" Kaoru stood beside his brother, crossing his arms over his chest as well.

"Sakura-chan, you're dating Haruhi-kun...is sweet. But..." She began softly, "It's not enough..."

"E-excuse me?" Sakura questioned

"It's not good enough!" She stood up and slammed her hands down on the table, making Sakura jerk back "There's so much more that could be done. You're the only girl among a group of guys!"

_Oh how wrong you are, Renge..._

"We need drama! Emotion! Betrayal!" She looked at the twins, "You two, after living such a sheltered life, have found not only a friend, but a lover in Sakura! We have to expand. We have to make things...dramatic!"

She pointed to Haruhi, "Haruhi, you're loosing your love to the twins and are completely oblivious to it until you one day catch one of them alone with Sakura. In a secluded room. Oh the pain. The heartbreak!"

Haruhi's looked at her sister with a puzzled expression only to receive a shrug in response. Sakura was just as lost in this as she was.

"And you, Sakura, are the core of the Hosts' problems. You're creating the turmoil!"

"We're not following any of this." Said the twins in unison, "What is she talking about?"

"I think I get it."

Honey was sitting on the couch kicking his legs and playing with the ears of his stuffed bunny rabbit.

"Renge-chan wants us to make it look like Saku-chan's cheating on Haru-chan with Hika-chan and Kao-chan. Right?"

"Exactly!" Renge smirked, "The customers have already caught wind of the twins' possible affections for Sakura. They're nibbling the cheese. We've got them. All that's left is to snap the trap and reel them in!"

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes at hearing the plan. Such a juvenile, silly, unconventional plan. But then again, that's exactly what the host club was. Juvenile, silly, and definetely unconventional.

"This is ridiculous." Kyouya stopped writing on his clipboard and looked at Renge, "What good will come of this plan? What benefit is there for anyone?"

"The customers would be a lot more into Haruhi and Sakura if we went through with this plan." Hikaru said, putting his finger to his chin.

"They're already interested. We shouldn't risk it. Besides, we don't want to give the customers the wrong idea. Making them think that there could possibly be affairs amongst the club. It's not a good image for us."

Sakura looked over at Kyouya and noticed that his grip on his pen was tightening. So much so that his hand was actually shaking. His expression was calm, but in his eyes...anger. A very very angry Kyouya.

"Techinically it wouldn't be cheating or an affair." Hikaru said, "It's an act. Just like Sakura and Haruhi's - "

Before Hikaru could even finish the sentence, Kaoru elbowed him in the shoulder and mouthed, 'Renge doesn't know'. Hikaru nodded, then turned back to the group, "The entire thing would just be an act."

"But the customers would take it as real." Kyouya adjusted his glasses, "This idea is out of the question."

"Just a minute now, Kyouya."

Tamaki had his elbow on the arm of the couch and his chin was resting on the knuckles of his fingers. His eyes were closed and he was stroking his cheek with his pinky. This was the position he often took when he was thinking.

"If we were to go through with this, our customer count might increase. And, if we were able to find some way to market Sakura's affairs with the twins, perhaps take pictures of them or something like that, our profits would increase. I think we should go through with it."

"Wait a minute!" Sakura stood up, "Don't Haruhi and I get a say in this?"

"Tamaki..." Kyouya said in a low tone, but Tamaki cut him off.

"It's settled!" Tamaki opened his eyes and looked directly at Sakura, "Sakura, from now on, you will flirt with the twins, and the rest of us will play along with it. Make sure you make it discrete, as if trying to hide it. But at the same time, make sure the customers are seeing what's going on. Hikaru. Kaoru. You do the same.

There was a snap and the sound of something falling to the floor. The group looked in Kyouya's direction to see that he had, by gripping it so tightly, snapped his pen in half. He was glaring at Kaoru. Just Kaoru. Not both of the twins. Just Kaoru. He dropped his clipboard onto the table and turned his back on the group, then walked over to where his bag was. He changed out of his costume and left the Third Music Room without a word, leaving the rest of the Host Club awestruck and confused.


	8. The Shadow King's Research

10: The Shadow King's Research

And thus, the host club (much against Kyouya's better judgment) put Renge's plan into action. The number of times Sakura sat with the twins increased, and the time she spent with Haruhi lessened. After only 3 days of this did the rumors begin to float. Every now an again, when Sakura, Haruhi, or the twins went down the halls, a few host club members were heard muttering to one another. Sakura would smirk, Haruhi would roll her eyes slightly, and the twins would high-five each other. All was going according to plan.

"Who would have thought this would all go so well?" Hikaru was saying to the rest of the hosts as they sat around the large Oakwood table in the center of the third music room about 20 minutes before Host activities were to begin.

"I suppose Renge is of some use after all." Kaoru leaned back in his chair.

The hosts continued chatting about the success of the plan. All but Kyouya and Sakura. Kyouya, being against the plan in the first place, had nothing to say. Sakura had another notebook and a pen and was jotting down, no doubt, lyrics to another song.

_If Kyouya won't give me my lyrics back, I'll just make more_

None of the host paid much attention to either one of the mutes, as they were to busy plotting what the next step in the act would be. The twins were suggesting an accidental kiss scene (Tamaki was completely against that idea). Honey had come up with a rather cute cake sequence where one of the twins would feed Sakura a piece of cake (Tamaki was against that as well). With their attention drawn elsewhere, Kyouya found this to be the perfect opportunity to pull Sakura aside as he had a few things to tell her. There was, however, one problem: Sakura hated Kyouya. Would he really be able to get her alone without her making a fuss?

"Sakura."

Sakura glanced up at the bespectacled boy, "Hm?"

"I need a word with you."

"About?"

"Various things. In private if you don't mind."

Sakura rose her eyebrow, not sure at all what this conversation could possibly be about. Kyouya had a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Okay…"

And she stood up. Kyouya did as well and led her away from the table, informing the hosts that they would be back in a few minutes. Kyouya led Sakura out to the deserted hall.

"Okay, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Sakura leaned against the wall.

Kyouya pulled a small notebook from his pocket and opened it, then flipped through the pages, "Let's just get the big things out of the way." He snapped the notebook shut and looked at her, "Kimiko Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened. A knowing smirk played over Kyouya's face.

"H-how did you…"

"Personally, I'm upset that I didn't figure it out sooner." Kyouya crossed his arms over his chest, "Kimiko Formal and Work wear. One of the largest clothing enterprises in Japan. Second behind the Hitachiin line."

Sakura heaved a sigh and looked away from him, "How did you figure it out?"

"Just recently, my father was considering a wardrobe change for the hospital portion of our company and he had a meeting with, "He opened his miniature notebook and read off one of the pages, "Umino and Ayame Kimiko, you're parents, correct?"

"Yeah, and? How did you know they were my parents?"

"You'd be surprised how much they talk about their 'beloved daughter, Sakura'." He adjusted his glasses, "At first, I didn't really think much on it, but then, I did some research and found that they had a daughter named Kimiko Sakura. This Kimiko Sakura is currently enrolled in Ouran."

"But I'm going by Fujioka Sakura." Sakura turned her gaze on him.

"Ayame, your mother, is the sister of Haruhi's late mother, making the two of you cousins, and not step-sisters. Haruhi's father allowed you to enroll under the name 'Fujioka Sakura' in order to keep your identity a secret and keep your education experience here as stress-free as possible."

Sakura let out a soft sigh, "Keep it a secret? We kept my identity secret for a reason. One mention of my name and the world goes crazy. If anyone knew that a Kimiko child was a student here, it would be chaotic."

Kyouya adjusted his glasses and flipped the page in his notebook, "Next, your math grades."

_Talk about a subject change…_

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "What about my math grades?"

"You're failing."

"I am not! I have a C."

"Which is failing."

"It is not! And how do you know about my math grades? Why are you so damn nosy?"

"As a means of raising your grade and keeping you from being kicked out the Host Club," Kyouya proceeded, completely disregarding Sakura's protest, "I've arranged a tutor for you."

"I do not need a tutor!" Sakura let out a frustrated groan, "Why are you so nosy about my life? You do research on my family, you found out about my grades – "

"Your tutor will be me."

That short statement threw Sakura for a major loop. At first, she wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly.

"W-wait…what?"

"I am your tutor."

Sakura covered her face and let out yet another frustrated groan, "I don't need a tutor and I definitely don't want YOU as a tutor! And don't just try and beat around the bush. Why did you do this research on me?"

Kyouya snapped his notebook shut and put it back into his pocket, then pushed his glasses farther up his nose (a gesture that was beginning to greatly annoy Sakura).

"Simple. You're new. Interesting. Different. Everything about you is different. I'm intrigued."

"That has nothing to do with my family or grades!"

Kyouya shook his head, a small, almost invisible, smirk creeping over his face, and walked past Sakura back into the Third Music Room. Annoyed, Sakura followed him back in. She plopped back down in her seat with a loud huff, and slammed her head down on the table.

"Sakura?" Haruhi put a hand on her back, "What's the matter?"

"Mr. Shadow King over there knows more about me than I do, that's what." She slowly picked her head up and glared at Kyouya who had - in the short amount of time between sitting down and Sakura looking at him – started up his laptop and was typing away.

"What do you mean?"

Sakura shook her head. She really did not want to revisit the subject. Haruhi shrugged and looked up at Tamaki as he stood up and announced the Host Club would be opening momentarily and the table needed to be moved. Everyone, with the exception of Sakura who moved over to one of the smaller tables and put her head down there, moved the table to the far side of the room and began setting up for the Host Club opening. Customers began filing in and sitting down at various tables. Haruhi sat down next to Sakura, as did a few customers, and patted her bag, telling her to sit up. Heaving a sigh, Sakura sat up and looked at the customers, putting on a fake smile (of course, she made sure no one else could tell it was fake) and pouring tea. 10 minutes in, Kyouya went over to the table and rested his hand on the back of Sakura's chair. She glared up at him, and mouthed 'What?' In response, Kyouya leaned down and whispered into her ear, 'Tutoring starts tonight. I'll send a car to your house at 5 to pick you up.' Sakura rolled her eyes and shoved the Shadow King away. He merely straightened his jacket and walked away.

_I am not going to his house tonight._


	9. The Shadow King's Estate

**Sorry for taking so long to update! Life's busy, you know? hehe. So, um, yeah! I'll try to update faster and for all of you who have been reading and reviewing, thank-youuuuuuu blows kisses I love you all so much. It makes me feel good that someone actually likes my stories! Anywho, next chapter here finally! Tutoring at the Ootori estate. Wonder how that'll go…**

11: The Shadow King's Estate

Thanks in large part to Haruhi, Sakura waited outside the school that day for Kyouya. Sakura, arms crossed tightly over her chest, grumbled incoherently to herself.

_I hate you, Haruhi. I can't believe I let you talk me into this. I had planned to just go straight home, but instead, you got to me and made me come…_

Sakura looked up at the clock tower. 4:30. Kyouya was half an hour late.

"Senpai, where are you?" Sakura mumbled, "If I'm going to inconvenience myself like this, the least you could do is be on time…"

After a few more minutes of waiting, Sakura spotted Kyouya coming out of the school. Sakura rolled her eyes and glared at him as he approached.

"Where were you?"

"Discussing something with Tamaki." Kyouya replied plainly and pushed his glasses farther up his nose.

"Tsch." Sakura rolled her eyes, "Good to know your obligation to me is important…"

Kyouya said nothing in reply and stood silently beside the angered girl. The two waited for a good 10 minutes before a limo pulled up to them and the chauffer stepped out and opened the side door for them. Without a word to the chauffer or each other, Sakura and Kyouya climbed in and pulled their seatbelts over their chests. Soon, the car was moving at top speed down the street. Sakura looked out the window at the passing scenery.

"You seem to be used to this." Kyouya said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Sakura looked over at him with one eye, "Excuse me?"

"Being escorted around in a limo." Kyouya crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat.

"I am the daughter of a famous designer." Sakura looked bak at the window, "Of course I'm used to it. Not that it's any different from riding in a regular car."

Kyouya closed his eyes, and amused smirk playing onto his face, "I see."

Sakura glanced over at him once more and raised an eyebrow, "What are you smirking about?"

"Nothing."

After that, the 30 minute ride to the Ootori estate was silent. Upon arrival, Sakura climbed out of the car and straightened her hair a little, then flattened the front of her dress some Though she was in enemy territory (at least it was enemy territory in her mind, what with it being Kyouya's house and all) , she knew she had to put on her nicest smile and charming, sophisticated lady act. The Ootori family was a very powerful family. If Sakura could get on the family's good side, the Kimiko family would be set. Sure they had done business before, but that was in the past. Some bonds aren't kept, and one between a powerful family and a company that designs their uniforms is one of the lesser bonds not kept. Kyouya noticed Sakura's primping.

"Attempting to make yourself look more presentable won't win anyone in my family over, Kimiko-san." Kyouya adjusted his glasses.

Sakura glared over at him, "Who said I was trying to impress anybody? I'm just fixing myself up some. Is that a crime?" She took a deep breath and started walking towards the door, "And refrain from calling me 'Kimiko-san' please."

And the two made their way inside the Ootori estate. Sakura had to keep herself from allowing her jaw to drop as she looked around at the pristine foyer. _This place is twice as big as my house. _A perfectly clean white marble floor reflected the light from the extravagant chandelier hanging from the cathedral vaulted ceiling, a staircase (marble like the flooring) led up to the bedrooms while an archway leading to the living and dining areas stood next to it. Kyouya adjusted his glasses some (this act was really starting to annoy Sakura) and began walking towards the archway.

"This way."

Sakura rolled her eyes slightly and held tighter to her bag as she followed Kyouya through the arch and into the large, modern themed living area. Sakura dropped her bag by the table and sat down, crossing her legs and running a hand through her hair. Kyouya put his bag down as well and sat next to her, then took out his math book, two notebooks, and two pens. Handing a notebook and pen to Sakura, Kyouya opened the math book and was about to begin explaining the basics of Advanced Algebra when a slender woman with long black hair and dark gray-black eyes like Kyouya walked in cradling a pile of clothing in her arms.

"Oh, you're home, Kyouya-kun!" The girl smiled at Sakura, "Who is this?"

"Neechan, this is Kimik-"

Kyouya stopped mid-sentence at the death glare Sakura sent him. Clearly, she did not want to be referred to as 'Kimiko' to anyone.

"Fujioka Sakura. An acquaintance of mine from school I'm tutoring for a little while. Sakura, this is my sister Fuyumi."

Fuyumi smiled and bowed a little, "Pleasure to meet you, Fujioka-kun. Fujioka…that name sounds oddly familiar."

Sakura nodded, "You're probably thinking of my stepsis-uh-stepbrother Fujioka Haruhi." She bit her tongue, embarrassed that she almost let 'stepsister' slip out.

"Yes! Kyouya-kun's school friend. I had no idea he had a sister." Fuyumi laughed a little, "Well, I'll be in and out of here for a lot of the evening, but don't let me bother you."

And Fuyumi headed towards a door at the far-side of the room and stepped out. Kyouya sighed a little.

"She's messing with my clothing again…"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle slightly. Kyouya looked over at her and she only continued giggling. What did Kyouya do in response to this? Certainly not something he does very often. At least, not sincerely. A small, almost invisible smile crept over the Shadow King's mouth as he watched her laughed. Finally calming herself, Sakura flipped open the notebook and pulled the top off her pen, then said she was ready to begin. Again, Kyouya attempted to begin teaching, but he was interrupted again. This time by his cellphone vibrating on the table. Glancing at the caller id, Kyouya sighed and flipped the phone open.

"Yes, Tamaki?"

Even though he wasn't on speaker, Sakura could easily hear Tamaki's loud voice. He was rambling in a panicked tone about some party later that week at the host club.

"I already told you I have everything arranged." Kyouya said, annoyed

Sighing a little, Sakura tuned out the conversation and stared aimlessly at the wall. She would have stayed like that had the word 'lyrics' not come out of Kyouya's mouth a few moments later.

"Lyrics? What lyrics? My lyrics?!"

Kyouya held his hand up in her face, signaling for her to be quiet, "We're doing it tomorrow after school, remember?"

More yelling from Tamaki, then Kyouya spoke, "Yes, it's her present from all of us so, no, you don't have to get anything else. The customers will, more than likely, bring gifts as well."

_Gifts? What gifts? What the hell is he talking about?_

"Tamaki, I'm in the middle of something right now, so can we continue your ranting later?"

Kyouya pulled the phone away from his ear and snapped it shut without so much as a goodbye. Sakura stared at him, confused, as she turned the phone off and put it back down on the table.

"Okay, as I was about to say – "

"What lyrics?" Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, "What party? What gifts? What's going on and why don't I know about it? I'm part of the Host Club too!"

"You'll find out later this week." Kyouya said simply

"No, I'm going to find out now because you're going to tell me!" Sakura clenched her fists, "I don't want to be in the dark about this."

"You have to be. Trust me. You'll thank me later."

Sakura wanted more than anything to throw Kyouya out the window or something else along those lines, but instead of letting her anger get out of control, she took a deep breath and bit her tongue. She'd know the story soon enough and, possibly, get her lyrics back by the end of the week. The idea of having her lyrics back suppressed her anger and she sat quietly while Kyouya tutored her.

**I know these past few chapters haven't been to eventful, but we're at a storyline building stage right now, hence, not so much going on. But things are going to get better as the story progresses, specifically after the party at the end of the week and you'll see why in chapter 13 (As that is the chapter the party is in). Anyway, thanks for reading and being patient as I take forever to update. lol. I promise the updates won't be so far spaced out anymore. **


	10. Invitation

**If there's grammatical errors (which I guarantee there are), please look past them. lol. It's almost 2am and I wanna go to bed so I didn't edit this as thoroughly as I wanted. lol. ANYWHO, updating again. Enjoy. **

12: Invitation

"Saaaaaaaaaaaaaakura-chan!"

Sakura stopped mid-step in the hall and turned on her heel at hearing her name being called. Two hazel-eyed twins approached her, standing on either side.

"Special invitation from the host club!" They said in unison, "To a lovely party on Friday in the Third Music Room. Your attendance is mandatory."

"If it's an invitation, don't I have the right to say no?

_Quite frankly, I don't want to go. Spending anymore time than needed with the Host Club is not my idea of fun._

The twins laughed and hugged Sakura tightly, "Kawaii! Kawaii!"

"K-Kaoru, Hikaru…let me go…"

"You're the guest of honor at the party." Hikaru said.

"And so, you must be there." Kaoru finished.

"Guest of honor?"

The twins pulled away, nodding in unison. Kaoru pulled a white envelope sealed shut with a vanilla colored ribbon from his back pocket and handed it to Sakura. Without so much as a goodbye, the twins walked off. Sakura just watched them walk off, then sighed and opened up the envelope, pulling a cream colored piece of paper out.

_Dear, Sakura_

_You have been cordially invited to a Host Club celebration taking place Friday afternoon at precisely 3:25. On this day, at this time, we will celebrate the birth of a life held dear. One without which the world itself would likely crumble. Your attendance is of the utmost importance._

_- Yours Truly_

_The Host Club_

Sakura read the invitation over a few times, then sighed _It's easy to tell this was written by Tamaki-senpai 'One without which the world itself with crumble' what a way to spend my afternoon. I'd love to skip, but if I did, no doubt he would send the twins after me._

Sakura sighed and folded the invitation back up, then continued down the hall to her next class: Math. The tutoring with Kyouya had gone fairly well considering Sakura's dislike for the Shadow King, and she actually did learn a few new things. However, she still believed she was doing fine in math and, when told that the next tutoring session was on Thursday, refused to ever allow herself to be locked up in the Ootori estate again.

She turned the corner and stepped into her math class where only a few people had gathered. Among them were Haruhi and Matsuri from History class. Sakura took her usual seat, second row third from the right. Haruhi sat on her left and Matsuri on her right.

"Ohayo Gozaimasu, Sakura-chan." Matsuri said brightly, his purple toned eyes glimmering a bit.

Sakura nodded with a smile, "Ohayo."

"Sakura?"

"Hm?" She turned and faced Haruhi.

"I called you last night on your cell phone, but you didn't answer."

"Oh, that was because I got back somewhat late from tutoring with Kyouya." She stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes, "Had I stayed any later than I did, I probably would have ended up asleep on the living room floor. When I finally did get home, I just went to bed."

"Oh."

Matsuri tapped Sakura on the shoulder, drawing her attention back to him, "You're being tutored by Ootori Kyouya-kun?"

"Not really." Sakura leaned back, "It was only a one night thing to help me with my math. I don't intend to do it again."

"Wow, you're so lucky to have even spent one night with him." Matsuri sighed a little, "What I wouldn't give for that opportunity…"

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Uh...huh."

Matsuri glanced over at her, blushing slight, "Oh...sorry. Never mind what I just said…It didn't mean anything really. Just...you know….musing to myself."

_Is Matsuri…he couldn't possibly be….I wonder…_

Sakura shook the rather awkward thought from her mind and pulled her math book from her bag. In pulling out her book, the invitation from the twins tumbled out as well and onto the floor by Haruhi's feet.

"Hm? What's this?" Haruhi picked it up and examined it, then smiled a little, "Oh, you got it. That's good."

"You know what it is?" Sakura took the invitation back to her and dropped it into her bag.

"Mhm. It's a birthday party invitation."

"A...birthday party?"

'…_..celebrate the birth of a life' Well duh. I should have figured that out…_

"Mhm." Haruhi nodded and smiled sweetly, "And not just any birthday party. Your birthday party! Oh wait…ooops." She laughed a little, "I wasn't supposed to tell you that much! I guess I blew the surprise."

_My birthday is on Friday. But…_

"How did they find out about my birthday?" Sakura questioned the nervously giggling Haruhi, "The Host Club I mean."

Haruhi stopped laugh, "Eh? Oh…um….Kyouya mentioned it a few days ago. He said he was researching your family and found out about your birthday."

_That nosy…_

Sakura let out a fake, nervous laugh, "I see…"

"It's supposed to be a secret, your party. So don't tell any of them that I told you, okay?"

"I won't."

--

"_Alright everyone, time to practice. We have to make this perfect for Sakura-chan's party!"_

"_We're ready! We're ready!"_

"_Is Sakura-chan gonna like it?"_

"_No doubt she will."_

"_I still wish we hadn't lied to keep it all a secret."_

"_You blew the secret Haruhi, so she knows."_

"_She only knows about the party! I didn't tell her about our gift!"_

"_It doesn't matter! We only have 5 days to master this! Let's get started!"_

_--_

(Friday)

Dressed in floor length cream colored gown, the 'guest of honor' made her way down the hall to the Third Music Room alone.

_You have been cordially invited to a Host Club celebration taking place Friday afternoon at precisely 3:25. On this day, at this time, we will celebrate the birth of a life held dear._

Sakura smiled a little as she stood before the vast double doors of the Host Club.

"At least they thought of me."

Sakura took a deep breath, preparing herself for whatever extravagant greeting the Host Club had for her, then placed her hands on the door knobs and pushed it open. The smell of cake and tea drifted out of the room along with a shower of white rose petals.

"Irashaimasu, Sakura-chan!"

--

**Alright, that was the last boring chapter for a while guys. By boring I mean no real pairing hints and interesting events. We're out of the storyline building stage and moving on! The next chapter is Sakura's birthday party at the Host Club!**


	11. Mata Ashita

**This one is a tad bit short. Sorry. There wasn't but so much to add to it. lol. But it's still an important chapter. Specifically what happens at the end.**

13: Mata Ashita

"Irashaimasu, Sakura-chan!"

It was a feast for the eyes in the Third Music Room that afternoon. The one thing most noticeable was the drastic change in decorations. The curtains, usually a pink color, were cream colored with dark pink buttons pinning them back to allow sunlight to pour into the room. The tables had a dark pink cotton tablecloth, covered with a sheer cream colored one and the teacup set was cream with pink flowers (cherry blossoms to be exact). Each table had a bouquet of cherry blossoms in the center.

The color scheme matched perfectly with the outfits of the hosts. Their suits, cream like Sakura's dress and most of the decorations in the room, where covering a dark pink undershirt and tie. Their pants (cream of course), reached down to their feet, allowing their black dress shoes peek out below. At the door the Hosts stood. Haruhi and and twins on one side, Kyouya, Mori, and Honey on the other and Tamaki standing at the head.

All at once, everyone in the room said, "Happy Birthday, Sakura!"

"Oh…my…"

She couldn't even say anything else before she was tackled in a hug by Honey. It was a miracle she didn't hit the floor,

"Happy Birthday, Saku-chan!" He said loudly with a big smile.

"Thank-you, Honey-senpai." Sakura laughed a little and hugged him back, "Am I sharing a party with somebody or something? All of this can't possibly be for me…"

"It is! It is!" Honey grabbed her hand and dragged her to a table piled high with gifts, "It's all for you! This is your special birthday celebration hosted by us, the Host Club."

Sakura was simply blown away. The mere sight of it all was more than enough for her to be happy for a month, but the thought of it all being her. Opening so many gifts, talking to so many people. And she couldn't even imagine what kind of activities the hosts had planned.

"We'll start with the presents." Haruhi handed a flat present wrapped in green paper and topped with a gold bow, "Here. This one is from…wait…umm…"

"Me!" Honey jumped up, "Me and Takashi!"

Sakura plucked off the bow and ripped off the paper to reveal a gold notebook with a silver pen attatched to it. She didn't even have time to react before the notebook was taken from her and replaced with another. And so, the gift giving continued. Kyouya kept track of everything she got. Notebooks, clothing, jewelry, books, pens, and so many numerous things. To many to even try and name. After presents came cake (Honey was most excited and wanted so badly to have the first slice). A layered strawberry shortcake. Several strawberry shortcakes actually. There had to be enough to feed everyone, right? After cake was served and tea was poured, Sakura picked up her fork and took a small bite of her cake.

"Sakura!" said a brunette, "There's still one gift you didn't get."

"Hm?" Sakura said, "What gift?"

"One from Haruhi." She smiled a little and gripped the hand of the blonde next to her and grinned, "A kiss!"

The jaws of all the hosts (except Kyouya of course) dropped. Tamaki went into a state of complete panic which consisted of him yelling things like , 'My daughter can't kiss anyone! It's so indecent! Sexual Harrasment! In front of everyone? Never!' Sakura choked on her cake and put her fork down, then picked up tea cup to wash it down.

"I-I-umm-hahaha…" Sakura studdered nervously.

It wasn't long before several girls were chanting 'kiss' over and over again. Sakura looked around panicked. _I can't kiss Haruhi! _She said this with her eyes and when Kyouya got the message, he leaned over and whispered into the ear of the panicked king who immediately calmed himself and clapped his hands together.

"Everyone! We have one final gift for Sakura. Sakura, if you'll please come stand over here." He held out his hand

Sakura took his hand and stood up, smoothing her dress some and moving towards the center of the room. Once positioned properly, Sakura watched as Tamaki called the remaining hosts over.

"Haruhi." Tamaki said and looked at her.

Haruhi smiled, "For the past few days, we've been working together to make the perfect birthday present for you." She looked at Mori, "Mori-senpai."

"It took a lot of tries." Mori said, "Mitskuni."

Honey smiled broadly, "But we finally settled on something! Hikaru? Kaoru?"

The twins each stood on either side of her, "And after a lot of practice."

"And hard work" Kaoru finished his brother's sentence.

"We've managed to put together this arrangement. As our gift to you." Kyouya put his notebook down and opened his laptop, pulling up what looked like a music player on his screen.

"And so, Sakura-chan, my beloved daughter." Tamaki lifted his hands, "Happy Birthday, from all of us to you. Hopefully you're not mad at us anymore. We would very much like to see you again tomorrow!"

And Kyouya tapped a button on his laptop, rolling his eyes slightly and muttering something that sounded like, 'I told you not to say that part' to Tamaki. The strum of a guitar came over the speaker for a few seconds, then, very familiar words (sung by Tamaki) emitted.

**Mata Ashita (English)**

(Tamaki) Because we're waiting here for you at anytime

If something bad happened, then tell us about it.

(Twins) Your sad face (please don't cry) that had been crying until just now (immediately)

(Tamaki) Look when it comes to us, we'll turn it into a smiling face before you know it.

(All) See you again tomorrow! So that we can meet you who smiled  
Like the clouds floating in the serene, blue sky  
Let's bask in sunlight to the fullest and start walking  
With me

(Kyouya) You just might laugh at a boring joke  
But we simply want to see your delighted face always

(Twins) The downpour from the rainclouds (it's all right) that had been falling until just now (immediately)  
(Tamaki) Look, when it comes to us, we can laugh them off and walk on

(All) See you again tomorrow! So that we can meet you who smiled  
So that we'll never forget the warmth of when we formed a circle  
And held our hands together, let's start walking, with me

(Kyouya) Because even when we fight and pass by each other (at anytime)  
(Tamaki) I don't regret that I was able to meet you

(All) See you again tomorrow! So that we can meet you who smiled  
Like the clouds floating in the serene, blue sky  
Let's bask in sunlight to the fullest and start walking

--

There was a round of applause from everyone in the room. The hosts all bowed, then turned their attention to Sakura who sat there speechless.

"Th-those are my…"

"Yes, your lyrics." Kyouya closed his laptop, "With a few alterations to make the song more…meaningful. As though it's our message to you."

"It is our message to you, Sakura." Honey positioned himself on Sakura's lap, "We want you to stay, even if you are mad at Kyou-chan. We took your notebook and used the lyrics to make this song and we recorded it yesterday and burned it to a cd so Kyou-chan could play it on his laptop."

"Everything that has happened since our suspension." Hikaru started

"Was planned for this day."

"So…" Sakura looked at each of the hosts, "You…" She covered her face, to hide her blush, "I don't know what to say. I can't believe you did this."

She looked up at Kyouya, "Kyouya-senpai, I am so sorry for treating you so horribly! Had I known…"

"Had you known it wouldn't have been a surprise." Kyouya smiled a little, "All that build up and scheming makes things more interesting, doesn't it?"

Sakura laughed and nodded, "Yes, it does." She stood up and motioned for all the hosts to come close to her. Once they were all gathered, she pulled them into a group hug, making the host club customers squeal like the obsessive fan girls they were, "Best birthday party ever, by far."

Sakura pulled out of the hug, planting a kiss on the cheeks of each hosts (even Haruhi. Several of the customers liked that). When she reached Kyouya, she simply smiled and motioned for him to come closer to her face. Instead of a kiss on cheek, Kyouya got one directly on the lips. Niether pulled away or even seemed to be breathing for quite some time. No one was. Everyone was to shocked to breath or say a thing. Especially the customers who, ever since Sakura's joining of the Host Club, believed she was with Haruhi.

"They're kissing!"

"What's Haruhi thinking?!"

"Oh, how could she do that to him!"

"I always knew she liked someone else!"

Sakura had to hold back her laugh as she pulled away from Kyouya. Tamaki stood, awestruck and somewhat appauled.

"Kyouya! THAT WASN'T PART OF THE PLAN!!"

Kyouya smirked a little, "Sometimes, plans...change."


	12. Not Part of the Plan

I've been recieiving a lot of questions. I think it's time to answer them!

**Mata Ashita is from the Ouran OST! You didn't write them. So why did you use them? Couldn't you have come up with something yourself**_**?  
**_Duh. Of course they're from the OST. I know that. I didn't claim them as my own in any way. They all belong to their respective writers. I used the lyrics because it suits the story and I can't write lyrics for shxt.

**Kyouya's being a bit…OOC. Why?  
**Kyouya liking someone is OOC in general. Has Kyouya ever had a thing for anyone? (Besides in my KyouxTama, KyouxHika yaoi fantasies) No. So, trying to capture a side of Kyouya that was never shown in the manga or anime without ruining his base character is a kinda hard. I think I've done a good job so far. If you don't agree, feel free to tell me THROUGH A MESSAGE how I could improve his character.

**Tama-chan always calls HARUHI his daughter. He's only said it once so far! Why?  
**True, Tamaki is a bit obsessive over Haruhi and calls her his daughter fairly often. But, have you noticed that Tamaki isn't in the story that often? And have you noticed that there haven't been any comical TamakixHaruhi moments? There's two reasons. Also, as far as him calling Sakura his daughter, that was explained earlier. Tamaki mentioned that since Sakura was related to Haruhi, she was his daughter as well, and since this story revolves more around Sakura, Kyouya, and Kaoru, and not so much Haruhi, he's more likely to call Sakura his daughter than Haruhi.

**Awesome job playing out Tama-chan! His character is right on!  
**Thank-you. :smiles:

**I want to see more Renge! She is the mastermind behind the plan after all.  
**Renge appears in this chapter.C But only for a little bit. After this chapter, Renge's plan won't be as…active as the Host Club's latest plan. What plan? You'll find out in this chapter.

**Will there be any HaruhixMori in this story?  
**No. 1) Not to fond of the pairing 2) This story isn't about them. That relationship will not be implied…EVER. The only other relationships that may be implied are TamaxHaru and HaruxHika.

**What does Sakura look like?  
**My writing style, usually, is to let the reader imagine what the main character looks like for themselves. It makes reading more enjoyable. However, there have been a few hints of Sakura's appearance throughout the story. You've just gotta find them.

**What time is it? Like, month, school year and stuff?  
**That was going to become clear in a few chapter, but I'll explain now. It's around Spring time. Spring Break, as you'll see in this chapter, is right around the corner..

Last one!

**You do a lot of skipping. Like, narrating what happened after something instead of playing it out in the story. Why?  
**That's simply my writing style. I write in third person (as you can see) which is a narrative writing form. So, I do a lot of narrating. It's a lot easier for me, and things flow easier. Besides, most of the things I narrate are misc. events not to key to storyline or are to short to play out an entire scene. Trust me, readers, I know what I'm writing and the story is still unfolding well without my playing out every sequence.

--

14: Not Part of the Plan

Host Club related gossip traveled quickly through the hall of Ouran when Monday of the next week rolled around. The birthday party, the song, and the kiss. Not one person hadn't heard. Of the topics, the most popular was the song. No, not the kiss. But the song. Every Host Club customer could be heard humming the tune or talking about how great the hosts' voices were.

The next most popular topic was, of course, the kiss. Several girls were distraught, believing that Haruhi had been heartbroken and Sakura was a backstabbing heartbreaker behind it. Some girls thought it was just Sakura's way of thanking Kyouya. ("He deserved a special thanks! Especially after everything those two had been through!).

No matter what story was being passed about, they all had the same effect: more designations for Haruhi and more chances to put Renge's plan into action. Even through all the gossip, then Host Club was continuing on with it.

"Don't you think the Host Club has more than enough publicity?" Sakura questioned as the Host Club sat at their giant table (it was cherrywood today) in the center of the room after activities, "I don't think we have to keep this act up, Renge."

"There's more to the story!" Renge stood a top her machine, sporting what looked like schoolgirl outfit and holding her microphone, "Not only is there affection from the twins, but now Kyouya-kun!"

Sakura sighed a little. She was the only one against continuing with the charade, but no one else seemed to support her proposal to end it, "I have no say in this apparently…"

"It's all going so perfectly now!" Renge continued, hopping off her machine and approaching the table, "That warm, silent, almost invisible love from Kyouya. He's unable to express his emotions…."

"Wasn't Sakura the one who kissed him?" Hikaru mused and traced circles on the table with his finger, "It makes more sense that it's her who can't express herself."

"NO!"

All the Hosts jumped at Renge's booming voice. When it came to Kyouya, Renge was firm in her decisions. Once her mind was made up, there was no changing it. Not to say that this stubbornness was any different from her usual stubbornness.

"Kyouya-senpai, help." Sakura looked across the table at Kyouya who was typing away on his laptop, "You were against this plan from the start."

"I've gotten over it."

Sakura slammed her head on the table, "You've got to be kidding me…."

"Hm…." Kyouya stared intently at his laptop screen, "Interesting…"

"What is?" Tamaki leaned over and peered at the computer screen, "What's interesting?"

"According to the fans on the Host Club Message boards," Kyouya scrolled down the page, "The song from Sakura's party was one of the best they had heard in a while. Apparently, they liked our voices and want more."

"More?" the twins said in unison and stood up, then stood behind Kyouya's chair and looked at the screen, "More songs?"

"Yes. More songs." Kyouya opened a link that lead to more girls ranting about the Hosts' smooth voices.

"If it's more songs they want, then it's more songs we'll give them!" Tamaki said proudly, "We'll record more!"

"But we don't have anymore songs." Honey pointed out as he tugged at the ears of his rabbit.

Sakura lifted her head from the table and looked at the Hosts now gathered around Kyouya's computer screen, "We could make more."

The Host turned their attention to her. She smiled a little, "I could write more songs."

"I get it." Haruhi said, "Sakura writes the lyrics and helps compose the music, then, we record the songs."

"If we burned cds and sold them on the site and between periods, we would have more Host Club funds." Kyouya shut down his computer down and closed it.

"And we could perform the songs for everyone during activities." Tamaki said excitedly, "We'll be music stars! We'll be famous!"

The twins both looked at the King, "We already are famous."

"But there's nothing wrong with more fame." Kyouya looked directly at Sakura, "How many songs do you have written?"

"A lot, but none that you all could use. I could write more." Sakura reached down into her bag and pulled out the gold notebook Honey gave her for her birthday, "I'll write them all down in here. This will be…" She pulled a black marker from her notebook and wrote something down, then held up the notebook for them all to see, "The Official Host Club Song Book."

_Let's see how long this song thing will distract them from Renge's plan._

And the discussion continued on. Where the songs would be recorded, when they would be performed live, who would be in charge of selling them. By the time an hour had passed, an entire game plan had been drawn out. From writing to selling. Now, they faced but one last problem.

"What kind of songs am I supposed to write?" Sakura tapped her pen against the notebook, "Mata Ashita was really good. I don't think I could write another song for you all to sing that would top that."

Haruhi rapped her fingers on the table as she thought, "How about…you write individual songs? A song for each of the Hosts."

Sakura flipped her pad open and looked down at the white paper, imagining it covered with words and doodles, "Individual songs that show each Host's personality…I can do that"

"Write one for me first, Sakura!" Honey said excitedly, "Write one about me and Usa-chan! One about me and Usa-chan, and Takashi having fun!"

Sakura smiled and stared at the rabbit for a few seconds, then up at Mori, then back to the rabbit, "Exploration with Usa-chan…Search for…" Sakura jotted down those few words, "Treasure chests….?"

Honey smiled, and that was all the approval Sakura needed. She wrote down that bit, then looked at Honey, "What else should I put? This is your song."

"Explore with Takashi too!"

"Okay. Umm…Exploration with Takashi. So we'll be okay."

And the two went back and forth, formulating ideas for the song. The twins, Mori, Tamaki, and Haruhi watched, amused. For the next half hour, the group built on the song and when it was time to go home, Sakura promised she would finish it at home and show it to them the next day.

--

"It's done! I finished it!" Sakura rushed into the Third Music Room the next day holding up her notebook, "Doki Doki Waku Waku is done."

Honey was the first to react. He jumped out of his seat and ran to Sakura, "I wanna see!"

She handed the notebook to Honey and flipped it open. The page that once had only 2 lines and a flower scribbled in the corner was filled to the bottom line with lyrics and doodles. At the very top, in big curly letters, were the words 'Doki Doki Waku Waku!' (Heart-Pounding, Exciting!)

**Doki Doki Waku Waku (English)**

If fun things are waiting, then I look forward to them all the time!  
I've found something cute and I want everything!  
Even in a forest, even in the water  
I can pursue it endlessly!  
Break through the barrier that obstructs my path! I'll lightly hurl it away!

Exploration together with Usa-chan! Search for treasure chests!  
I'll go toward the exciting dream island  
Exploration together with Takashi! So we'll be okay!  
Let's depart on a cheery journey!  
My heart is pounding

On days when happy things happened, I had a megaton-level smile!  
I'll share plenty of happiness with you, who are depressed!  
With one flick of a magic wand, Usa-chan transforms into Kuma-chan  
This is Tama-chan's Kuma-chan. (T-T) This isn't cute at all

Exploration together with everyone! Search for treasure chests!  
I'll go toward the exciting dream island  
Exploration together all the time! So we'll be okay!  
Let's depart on a cheery journey!  
My heart is pounding

Exploration together with Usa-chan! Search for treasure chests!  
I'll go toward the exciting dream island  
Exploration together with Takashi! So we'll be okay!  
Let's depart on a cheery journey!  
My heart is pounding

Exploration together with everyone! Search for treasure chests!  
I'll go toward the exciting dream island  
Exploration together all the time! So we'll be okay!  
Let's depart on a cheery journey!  
My heart is pounding

--

"I love it." Honey smiled as he read it.

Sakura nodded and took the notebook back from him, "Good. I thought it was cute. Hopefully everyone else will."

The notebook was passed around and, one by one, each Host read the lyrics over. They all agreed it was a nice song and a recording date was set for later that week. The next one who needed a song was Tamaki (this was decided by the King himself and never discussed with anyone else, so the twins got rather angry when he announced it, as they wanted their song next). Sakura promised that the twins would be after Tamaki, and the writing of the King's song started during Host Club activities while Sakura sat and entertained guests with Haruhi, with the occasional flirtatious touch from one of the twins and a glance or two from Kyouya. Renge's plan, apparently, was put back into action without Sakura's approval. Unfortunately, she couldn't really do anything about it, so she just went along with it. However, as Kyouya's glances became more frequent, Sakura began to suspect that Kyouya was working outside of the plan and on his own will. Which meant, he wanted to look at her. It wasn't an act. After an hour or so passed of Host activities, Tamaki stood up and got the attention of everyone in the room, announcing that another Host Club song had been written and was going to be recorded. During this time, Sakura moved over to where Kyouya was sitting, a table near the window and leaned over his shoulder and looked at his computer screen.

"What're you doing all the way over here? Don't you have designations?"

"Not right now, no."

"I find that hard to believe." She continued to stare at the screen. Kyouya was designing a cd cover for Mata Ashita.

"Can I help you?"

"You could answer a question for me."

"Okay."

She took a seat next to him and leaned on the table, "Why do you keep looking at me?"

The twins, sitting at a table near where Tamaki was standing, were watching the King and smiling slightly as he announced the song information so excitedly. However, one twin broke his gaze and glanced over to where he thought Sakura was sitting, only to find she wasn't there. Instead, she was speaking with Kyouya at the opposite side of the room. He let out a soft sigh. Ever since that kiss, Kaoru had been slightly depressed. Not so much that his performance in school and in the Host Club slumped, but enough to make his mood drop a little and it become evident to his brother. Poor Kaoru was unsure of why this state of depression had come to him. Hikaru, however, knew exactly what it was. Jealousy, plain and simple. Kaoru was jealous of Kyouya. His recent closeness with Sakura. With this knowledge, Hikaru came up with a plan.

Hikaru glanced over at his brother and noticed him staring at Sakura. With a gentle nudge to of the elbow, Hikaru directed Kaoru's attention away from them, "We're inviting Sakura to our Summer House for Spring Break, remember? You'll get all the time you want with her."

Kaoru sighed a little, "What with you and spending time with her? We're with her all the time during school."

Hikaru only smiled and put a finger over his lip, then turned back to the King.

"They're kissing again!" Screamed one of the girls suddenly, "Look! Look!"

Everyone looked to the back of the room to see Sakura kissing Kyouya again. The reaction of the customers was mixed. Some gasped, some squealed happily, some immediately turned to comfort Haruhi. Tamaki's jaw hit the floor.

"KYOUYA!!"

Of course the bespectacled boy didn't respond, nor did he pull away. Tamaki wobbled in place and soon crumbled to the floor, mumbling incoherently. Something about betrayal and unapproved affairs with his daughter. Haruhi, being smoothered by customers, smiled slightly at the sight. Somehow, she knew that the little scene wasn't an act for Renge's plan (How the relationship clueless Haruhi was aware of this, she or anyone else will ever know). Kaoru stood upright and stared at the two, a look of confusion, sadness, and shock on his face all at once. He was unaware of it, but his heart had snapped in two at the sight. The poor freshman was knowledgeable when it came to helping others in relationships, but when it came to matters of his own heart, he was more clueless that Tamaki would be in a commoner's market. And so, he had no idea exactly what effect Sakura was having on him.

--

Yes, they kissed again. How the kiss came to be? You won't find out until the next chapter! Mwahahaha. lol. ANYWAY, reviews are love and make this writer very very happy. C


	13. Returning the Gaze

15:

15: Returning the Gaze

"Why do you keep looking at me? Or am I mistaking it for a glare?"

"I wasn't glaring, I was looking." Kyouya dragged a pink circle onto the Doki Doki Waku Waku cd cover he'd switched to editing.

Sakura nodded, "Okay, then why were you staring? Researching me more perhaps?"

_I certainly would not be surprised if that were the case…_

"Not research. Simply a reaction. A reaction to what you did when we first met." He closed his laptop, "Do you remember what you did when you first met the Host Club?"

"Uhh…" Sakura shook her head, "No."

"Who did you look at first besides the twins?"

"You." She smiled, "I was looking at you."

"Right." Kyouya leaned back in his chair and adjusted his glasses, "When a girl stares at a boy, what does she then want in return?"

"Well…she wants the guy to stare back. Because the girl usually finds the guy attractive in some way and they hope the guy feels the same…way…"

Kyouya nodded, "Is it coming together now?"

"You were staring at me because – "

"I was returning the gaze." Kyouya got closer to her face, "Is that okay with you?"

Sakura blinked a few times, blushing, "Uhh…B-but…I don't…I mean, you're not making…I don't understa – "

She was silenced when finger covered her lips.

"You're almost as clueless as Tamaki." He said softly, "But no one could match up to that idiot."

And that was when Kyouya leaned forward and kissed her. That was when Tamaki crumbled to the floor and assumed his hedgehog position. That was when the rumors started flying even more than before. That was when Kaoru's heart snapped in two.

"Ohohohohohohohoho!"

And it was also when Renge appeared, ready to have a field day with this scandal (T-T)

"Such a discrete form of affection from Kyouya-kun! Pulling his love to a corner, distant from the others, and embracing her!" Renge said all this while rotating on her machine as it rose in the air, "Hoping to not be caught, they kept this embrace going and still now with all attention they do not stop! It's so romantic! Going against the odds!"

Sakura pulled away from the bespectacled boy, shocked, but at the same time, annoyed as hell by Renge.

_Why does the Host Club have to have a female manager? And an OTAKU at that…_

"And it doesn't end there! Poor Haruhi!" Renge hopped her machine and stood by Haruhi who was being smothered by sympathetic girls, "His heart is broken twice in a row! How heart-wrenching it must be to see his lover with another!"

"Actually, Renge-chan, I don't mind so much." Haruhi said, attempting to push some of the girls away, "As a matter of fact, I have something I need to say."

The room fell silent. The girls immediately released Haruhi, allowing her to breath. She took a deep breath, enjoying the air rushing through her lunges. It would only be a matter of seconds in which she would be smothered again by the same adoring fan girls.

"Sakura and I were never dating in the first place." Every one in the room, Hosts included, gasped, "In fact, she's my sister. She transferred her a while ago and…in order to get more designations, we planned a ruse to make you believe we were dating. If Sakura is in love with Kyouya-senpai, then, that's okay."

Not one girl had dry eyes. Except for Sakura. She was still hung up on the 'in love with Kyouya-senpai' part. The thought had never even crossed her mind. Who would have thought a simple thank-you kiss would have resulted in all of this?

"It was more than just a thank-you kiss." Kyouya said to Sakura, making a tingle go down her spine.

_What is he? Psychic?_

She looked over at him, "'Scuse me?"

"It was more than just a thank-you kiss." He repeated

"What was?" She said, trying not to give Kyouya the satisfaction of successfully reading her mind.

Kyouya adjusted his glasses, "What you did at the party was more than a 'thank-you'. And what I just did was by no means a 'you're welcome'"

"Well…whatever you want to call what you just did…did you have to do it here? In front of everyone?"

"I'm not fond of rumors. I'd rather the truth be known and everyone be certain of what is really going on."

"And what is really going on?"

Kyouya rose to his feet and walked over to the rest of the group, leaving Sakura befuddled and not to mention a tad annoyed _That arrogant bastard…_Haruhi, as predicted, was being smothered again by fan girls. Thier words of comfort had changed into something like her longing for a love, so she acted like she had one to satisfy her needs. No doubt these thoughts were prompted by something Renge said after Haruhi's confession, as Renge was going around the room whispering things in various girls' ears. Sakura stood up and joined the gathering, only to be crowded around by girls.

"Sakura, why did you agree to do it?!"

"Is your sibling love so strong that you may actually have feelings for each other?! Like Hikaru and Kaoru?"

_Yeah…that's the case…_

As Sakura opened her mouth every now and again to attempt to answer questions, she felt someone staring at her. Her first thought was that it was Kyouya, but as she looked around, she found it to be Kaoru. His soft hazel eyes locked on her dusty green (mind you, they were originally brown, but in all the excitement, they changed colors) He was hurt. Sakura could see it. Why? That was one thing she didn't know.

"If everyone would please find thier seats and calm themselves down, we would like to continue with Host activities." Kyouya said over the noise.

The girls slowly began finding seats and the noise level dropped drastically, allowing Sakura to relax and her eyes to fade back to brown. How Host activities were able to continue on so smoothly was beyond her. It was as though nothing had happened. Sakura groaned and sat down in her chair, closing her eyes and trying to sort through her many thoughts and emotions. This process was cut short, however, by the sound of footsteps She opened one eye and saw the Shadow King looking down at her.

"Can I help you?"

"You have designations."

Sakura opened her other eye and shot Kyouya a confused look, "What?"

"A few girls want to spend the rest of their time in the Host Club with you. And you even have some for tomorrow."

Sakura blinked a few times, "I'm not working with Haruhi or anything?"

"No."

Still slightly confused at such news, Sakura stood up and followed Kyouya to a table where 3 girls sat all chatting amongst themselves. As Sakura approached, the girls fell silent and smiled, giggling slightly and waving. Sakura did a small finger wave and smiled, then went to sit down. As she began pouring tea, Kyouya leaned down and spoke into her ear.

"You're next tutoring session is tonight. This time it will be at your home. I'm curious as to what it looks like, and I'm very interested in meeting your parents. I have your address already, so expect me at 6."

And he stood upright, and began walking away without as much as a goodbye.

_After everything we've been through, the least he could do is be a little bit nicer. Perhaps not so blunt and arrogant. What if I don't want to have a tutoring session tonight?_

"It's not optional, Sakura-chan." Kyouya said suddenly, sending another tingle down Sakura's spine

_He's psychic. He must be. It's the only explanation._


	14. Where We Stand

**Got more questions! This time via-email. **

**When are you going to bring in the other characters?  
**If by other characters, you mean the other clubs at Ouran , the chances of them appearing at all are slim to none. They don't really have a place in the story yet. And judging by the way I have this story going, they probably won't. The only time they may show up is towards the end of the story when the competition for the ballroom (or whatever room it is) for the School Festival happens. That was a bit of a spoiler. haha. Sorry. Oh! But there is one club that will appear and have a fairly prominent role in the story. Won't tell you which.

**Could you be a bit more descriptive as to what goes on in the club? I'm not that familiar with Ouran.  
**Then why are you reading? If you're going to read the story, go back and read the manga first. Or watch the anime. I'm surprised you've made it this far in the story without getting lost.

**Which song are you gonna to use for tamaki? He has two!! And theyre bot awesome!  
**I'm using Guilty Beauty Love for Tamaki. His other song centers more on his relationship with Haruhi. Plus, I don't really like that one.

**Where are Kyoya's bodyguards?! They're always everywhere in the manga. rawrr…forgot their names. lol.  
**The only one I can remember is Tachibana. haha. And, yeah, Bisco Hatori has a way of bringing them in comically, and I can't do that. haha. So they won't appear in the story.

* * *

16: Where We Stand

"Sakura, this isn't helping."

"Yes it is. Maybe if I do it enough times, I'll get a concussion or something. Then I can go the hospital and not have to do my tutoring with Kyoya."

"Aren't you in love with him?"

"NO."

"Then there's hope for me!"

Sakura stopped banging her head against the wall, only for a second to look at Matsuri. His face was beet red when she stared at him. Sakura couldn't help but giggle; however, she fell silent rather quickly and continued slamming her head against the wall.

"How can you do that more than once without getting an immediate headache?" Matsuri said and rubbed the back of his head, "My head's hurting just thinking about it."

"I have a high tolerance for pain." She replied simply.

"Clearly."

"Higher than most."

"Obviously."

"I ran into a wall when I was five." Sakura stopped banging her head against the wall and slid down to the floor, "But I just kept on walking. Like it didn't even happen."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

Matsuri sat next to Sakura on the floor and put his books in front of him, "Kyoya-senpai kissed you. He must like you."

"If he does, then why doesn't he just say it?"

"He did."

Sakura looked at Matsuri, "And when was this?"

"You said that he said he was returning the gaze right? Responding to you from when you first met the Host Club?"

"Yeah. Then he proceeded to call me an idiot."

"That's beside the point." Matsuri pulled his legs up to his chest, "He basically said right then and there that he was interested in you."

Sakura sighed and leaned her head on Matsuri's shoulder, "I guess. But what about Kaoru?"

"Hm?" Matsuri said as he brushed a lock of hair out of Sakura's face and tucked it behind her ear, "Hitachiin Kaoru you mean? What about him?"

"After the event," Sakura began softly, "He looked…hurt. In his eyes, the way he looked at me….he was in pain."

Matsuri nodded, "I see."

"Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"I have an idea, but I think it's better if you figure it out for yourself." Matsuri smiled a little,

Sakura groaned a little, "You're of no help."

He laughed and stood up. "Sorry. Anyway, you should get home and get ready for Kyoya-senpai to come."

Sakura nodded, "You're right. I should. I'll see you tomorrow then, Matsuri." She stood up, "Oh, and by the way, if you like senpai so much, then maybe you should come by the Host Club and designate him. If Kasanoda-kun can come by everyday and designate Haruhi, than I'm sure you can designate Kyoya-kun."

_Even though Haruhi's a girl and Kasanoda knows that...not that it matters. No one else knows._

Matsuri shook his head and got to his feet, "Oh, no, I couldn't do that! There's no way I could designate Kyoya-senpai like that! Besides…no one except you and Haruhi know about this."

Sakura shrugged, "Alright. It's your call, but you're always welcome, Matsuri-kun."

* * *

That evening, Sakura sat at the large table in the main dining room of her house. In waiting for Kyoya, she got bored and grabbed her notebook to start working on Tamaki's song. She'd been working for about an hour (She got home at 5) and the words were not flowing like they usually were. She'd managed to come up with one verse between several cups of tea, bored sighs, and annoyed glares at the ceiling.

_Tsumi wa Kami ga boku o Utsukushiku tsukutta koto  
__Kimi no hitomi ni Utsutta boku ga Ikenai no sa  
__Batsu wa Boku ga ai ni Mitasaresugiteru koto  
__Sore de mo boku wa kimi o aishite shimau darou  
__Guilty Beauty Love_

_(The crime is that God created me beautifully  
__I'm wrong to be reflected in your eyes  
__The punishment is that I'm overfilled with love  
__Nevertheless, I'll still in love with you, right?  
__Guilty Beauty Love)_

Sakura sighed a little as she read through the first verse for maybe the 13th time, "Write a song for each of the hosts that show each of their personalities…" She leaned back in her chair, "As far as I'm concerned, this song describes Tamaki-senpai perfectly. To bad I can't think of anything else to add."

Sakura continued on with the song until a brunette maid stepped in and bowed lowed.

"Kimiko-san, you have a guest." She said.

"Eh?" Sakura looked up, "Who is it?"

"Ootori Kyoya-kun. Shall I bring him here?"

_Oh right, my tutoring with Kyoya-senpai._

Sakura glanced up at the clock on the wall. 6:00. He was on time.

"Yeah, send him in." Sakura shut her notebook. The brunette left and entered again about 3 minutes later with Kyoya. He smiled and nodded at the maid, then turned to Sakura.

"Good Evening, senpai." Sakura pushed her notebook aside.

Kyoya nodded and made his way over to the table, setting up his math book, two notebooks, and two pens, "Your mother is very nice."

Sakura's heart jumped into her throat, "Y-you met my mother already?"

"She was the one who answered the door." Kyoya opened the math book to page 137, "She greeted me warmly and recognized me almost immediately."

"She…recognized you?"

"Apparently your mother has been sending a personal photographer to school with you. He hides and takes pictures of your day to day life; apparently, there was a photo with me in it."

_She's been doing this to me since I was a first year in elementary school. "You never talk about your day at school!" She always complains. Maybe because nothing interesting ever happens. She reminds me so much of Ranka-san and Misuzu-san._

"She is very similar to Haruhi's father."

Sakura looked over that the bespectacled boy as he tested the pens to make sure they worked. Apparently reading minds and calling people out was part of his daily routine.

"When we left off, we were about to look into Logarithms and Antilogarithms." Kyoya said and retrieved two scientific calculators from his bag.

"Log..tha…what?"

"Logarithms and Antilogarithms. You don't have to be able to say it, just understand it." He handed her a calculator.

Sakura simply nodded and put her calculator down, the let out a sigh, "Can I ask you something, senpai?"

"If you must."

She took a deep breath, "What…are we?"

There were very few situations where Kyoya was truly puzzled. This was one of them.

"Excuse me?"

"What are we?" She repeated, "Where do we stand….relationship-wise?"

"Ah." Kyoya nodded, "That's for you to tell me. Not the other way around."

"Say again?"

"Typically, it's up to the girl to determine what type of relationship she has with boy." Kyoya adjusted his glasses a little, pushing them up off the bridge of his nose, "Is it not?"

"Uhh…I suppose…But if the girl doesn't know, then it falls on the guy's shoulders. Doesn't it?"

Kyoya looked at her, a barely visible smile creeping over his face. He was intrigued. Intrigued by her and her thought process. Time and time again, she went against his research. He had in his mind the exact way Sakura was supposed to react based on her character and such. At this point, she _should _have been confessing her feelings for him. But she wasn't. When he kissed her earlier that day, she was _supposed_ to blush madly and not say anything else. And yet, not only did she not blush, she questioned him.

"You're very inquisitive."

"Well, I'm sorry for wanting answers." She crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't like be confused or tricked."

"And you're demanding, pushy, easily angered, and very spontaneous." He continued, completely disregarding her comment, "You're a very interesting person. You can't be pinned down to act a certain way like everyone else."

She slowly uncrossed her arms and gave him a strange look, "Excuse me?"

"Repeatedly, you go against my research. You don't act the way you're supposed to. At this point – "

Kyoya was cut short at the sound of Sakura's laughter, "Research? Wait, let me guess. You've been trying to figure out how I'll react to certain things so you can plan around it? Am I right? And you call me clueless."

"Only because you are." Kyoya replied, smirking slightly, "That's the only thing I'm certain of right now."

Sakura sighed, "I'll just forget you said that. But, senpai, you can't pin point how people are going to act. We're not robots with a specific programming. Especially when it comes to emotions and reactions. You can find out everything there is to know about a person, but you can't predict how they'll feel about something. Feelings change."

"If you've known someone long enough, you can predict those feelings."

"You haven't known me long enough." She smiled a little, "Maybe you can predict what Tamaki-senpai's feeling, or the twins, or any of the other Hosts. But that's because you know them so well. You don't know me that well, so you can't predict how I'll feel about you. You could kiss from now until forever and expect me to come back saying 'I love you' but if you don't know that I'm not that type of girl, then you'll never get anywhere."

All Kyoya could do was smirk. For once, he couldn't respond. She'd trapped him, figured out his game, and no amount of craftiness could help him in that situation.

Sakura smiled a little and let out a long, exaggerated sigh, "So, back to the question. Where do we stand relationship-wise, right?"

* * *

"Haruhi, Sakura won't answer her cell phone!"

"When did Sakura get a cell phone?"

"When Hikaru and I gave her one. It's a buddies only model like yours."

"I see…"

"Well, she's on your phone too! So call her. We want to ask her something."

"I think she hasn't answered because she's tutoring with Kyoya-senpai right now."

"Tutoring?"

"You didn't know?"

"No!"

"Sakura isn't doing well in math, so Tamaki-senpai told Kyoya-senpai to tutor Sakura. They do it about 3 nights a week."

Kaoru heaved a sigh and laid back on his bed next to Hikaru who was doing homework. He pulled the phone away from his ear and hit 'speaker' then put the phone on the end table and laid on his side.

"Well…why didn't she say anything about it?"

"Nobody asked I guess."

"Didn't know we had to ask."

"Of course you'd have to ask, Kaoru." Hikaru looked down at his brother, "Girls don't talk about their home life unless you ask."

"Haruhi does!"

"You two force it out of me!"

"Sakura's different from Haruhi, in case you haven't noticed." Hikaru replied, completely ignoring Haruhi (She sighed when she realized this).

"I know that…" Kaoru grumbled, "I just wish she'd talk to us, that's all. She spends so much time with Haruhi and Kyoya. We're in all the same classes as her, you would think –"

"Kaoru, if you want her to talk to you, you have to talk to her." Haruhi interjected, "To be honest, you guys aren't very approachable. So, you have to approach her."

"I'm approachable!" Kaoru protested, "Hikaru's the one no one can talk to!"

"Hey!"

"No one can even tell you two apart!" Haruhi replied loudly, "So, even if Hikaru was unapproachable, no one would be able to talk to you anyway because they wouldn't know if they were talking to Hikaru or Kaoru."

Kaoru sighed a little and laid on his back, "She can tell us apart."

Haruhi sighed a little, "I don't know what to say, Kaoru. You keep coming up with excuses. The point is, you have to talk to her. Not the other way around."

Kaoru turned on his stomach, hugging the pillow to his face, "I can't."

"Did you say something? I can't hear you."

"Nevermind him, he's just being a baby." Hikaru reached over his brother and grabbed the phone off the table, ignoring Kaoru and his grumbling, "We wanted to call Sakura and invite her to our house for Spring Break. Do you want to come to?"

"No thanks." She said almost automatically, "I'm going to catch up on some reading and studying and stuff at home."

"Come on, Haruhi! Spring Break is vacation. You don't study on vacation."

Haruhi groaned a little, "I'm not going."

Hikaru smirked slightly, "We'll see about that."

* * *

"What a wonderful idea! This way the Host Club can bond even more!"

Haruhi groaned and sank into the couch in the Third Music room the next day.

The twins beamed and gave a thumbs up to the over-excited King, "That's right!"

"To think, spending an entire week with my beloved Haruhi!" Tamaki sat down beside the girl and put an arm around her, "We'll bond in ways that only father and daughter can! I can see it now. We'll wake early every morning for a quiet father-daughter breakfast, and then we'll move on to a morning swim. Then – "

Sakura, who was sitting next to Kyoya on the couch opposite Haruhi, had a hard time holding in her laughter. Hikaru and Kaoru had just proposed that the Host Club spend Spring Break at the Hitachiin summer house and Tamaki jumped at the offer. The rest of the club (with the exception of Haruhi) was pretty neutral about it, agreeing to go along with it as they had nothing better to do for the break. While Tamaki and Hikaru chatted up Haruhi, Kaoru sat on the opposite side of Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, I want to ask you something."

Sakura looked over at him, "Okay. What is it?" She said and leaned back on Kyoya, who tried to push her off, but this proved unsuccessful and he let her stay there.

"I thought maybe you and Haruhi could stay in a room with us." Kaoru smiled, "Just the four of us."

Sakura smiled, "That sounds fun."

"Does your summer home not have enough rooms for everyone to have their own?"

Kaoru looked up at Kyoya. The Shadow King glared daggers at the twin. Obviously, he wasn't happy with the offer.

"There is, but I want to share with Sakura." Kaoru said.

Sakura laughed a little, "Kyoya-kun, it's fine. No need to be jealous."

"I am not jealous."

"It's either jealousness or possessiveness, Kyoya, pick one." She looked up at him.

Kaoru didn't realize it at first when the two had started talking, but as he let out a sigh and leaned backwards, he noticed Sakura's hand in Kyoya's. In fact, thinking back on it, Kaoru realized that their fingers had been entwined since entering the Third Music Room earlier. And on top that, _-senpai _had changed to _–kun_. Kaoru stood up and moved away from the two as they argued and stood next to his brother behind the couch Haruhi and Tamaki were sitting on.

"Kaoru, what's wrong?" Hikaru whispered, "What's up with that face?"

"Hikaru…I think Sakura and Kyoya-senpai are dating."

* * *

I'm giggling like a mad woman right now. lol. Three shocking chapter endings back to back to back! Oh, what fun I'm having writing this story. lmao. It's like…the most fun I've had in a while. Anyway, we've gotten through the KyoyaxSakura arc, now it's time to move onto the SakuraxKaoruxHikaru relationship building arc. I just want to let you know that the next few chapters are going to be set up in a particular way. Each chapter will represent one day on their Spring Break, and then something special happens on the last day. hehe. Of course I'm not going to TELL you what that special event is, but I can tell you that you'll like it. Alright! Leave reviews and I'll update again soon!


	15. Swimming Lessons

17: Day 1 – Swim Lessons

"Tono!" The twins voice came in unison as they stepped into the main dining room Monday morning, the first day of the Host Club Spring Breakathon, as Tamaki so quaintly put it, "We have something to show you!"

Tamaki looked up from his breakfast and at the twins, an excited look on his face, "What is it? What is it? Maybe we should wait for Haruhi! She'll want to see, won't she?"

The other Hosts at the table, Kyoya, Mori, and Honey, all looked up as well to see what this thing the King had to see was.

"Trust me, Tono." Hikaru said grinning, "She'll see it."

Tamaki turned in his chair and stared at the twins excitedly, like a child waiting for a Christmas present. The twins, who were standing side by side, stepped away from each other and Sakura walked forward, a proud smile on her face.

"It took some work, but I believe we've done well, guys." She said, high-fiving the twins "Tamaki-senpai, I present to you the new and improved female version of Fujioka Haruhi!"

Sakura stepped aside and what appeared behind her made Tamaki's jaw drop. Haruhi stepped forward, and what a sight she was. It was more than just a purple two-piece swimsuit. It was something like a tankini. The bottom was a skirt, reaching down a few inches above her knees. Over the bottoms was a sheer white satin sarong. The top was a strapless bikini top with a white and purple flower design. Around her neck was a sea shell necklace (handmade by Kaoru with shells he found during his previous summer vacation) and in her hair was a purple flower hair clip, pushing her bangs out of her face. Overall, she looked amazing.

"Haruhi, you look so cute!" Honey exclaimed and stood up from his seat, "Toropikaru him! (Tropical Princess)"

"I don't know." Haruhi rubbed her arm, "Isn't it a bit…revealing?"

"No! It's perfect, Haruhi!" Sakura gave her a thumbs up, "And you look incredible! Look at Tamaki-senpai. He can't stop staring."

Haruhi looked at the Host Club King whose jaw was still on the floor, "Tamaki-senpai?"

"H-Haruhi…"

Tamaki stood up, tearing his eyes away from Haruhi and at the twins who were still grinning like mad men.

"You two…this was your doing. Was it not?"

"Only partially, Tono." They said in unison, "It was Sakura's idea to dress up Haruhi; we just picked out the bathing suit. It was a sample design our mom had made and allowed us to use wherever until – "

"HOW DARE YOU DRESS MY DAUGHTER IN SUCH A REVEALING OUTFIT!! CLEARLY SHE IS UNCOMFORTABLE!!"

Sakura jumped at Tamaki's yelling, but giggled nonetheless. The twins just stood there, grinning and snickering and teasing the King to no end. While Tamaki attempted to 'protect his daughter's virgin's skin with his body', Sakura found a place at the table by Kyoya.

"That's not something the twin's mother made, is it?" He said without looking up from his food.

"Nope." Sakura shook his head, "It was something my mom made for me to where here. But, I thought it would look nicer on Haruhi."

"I can only assume the twins know who you really are now."

"Yes they do."

Sakura laced her fingers together and leaned her elbows on the table, then looked over at the scene. Tamaki was being scolded by Haruhi for attempting to pull off her sarong and drag her back to the room and help her change into something else. Tamaki fought back saying that it's natural for fathers to help their daughters change and get ready.

"Kyoya?"

"Hm?"

"How long do you think it will be before Tamaki realizes his feelings for Haruhi?"

Kyoya shrugged and watched the scene as well, "He knows feelings are there. He's just confusing them with fatherly affection."

"He's acting more like a worried mother if you ask me." Sakura mumbled, "Hey wait…remember how back in the cafeteria, the twins were trying to steal my notebook and Tamaki called me his 'daughter'? Does that mean – "

"Possibly. But it's unlikely as he hasn't called you his daughter since then."

Sakura sunk down in her chair, "Can we go swimming now? I'm hot."

Kyoya stood up, dabbing the side of his mouth with a napkin and putting his hand in his left pocket, "Tamaki. If we are going to the pool, then Haruhi is dressed fine. You shouldn't harass her like that."

"B-but, Mom, she's dressed indecently!" Tamaki protested, gripping tightly to Haruhi's shoulders "What kind of father stands by and allows that?!"

"Senpai, I agree with you." Haruhi said, drawing the King's attention, "I think this swimsuit is a bit inappropriate, but we're going to the pool. I'm only going to wear for a little while and then I'll take it off and put on something else from my bag. So, until then, can you please not fuss over me?"

Haruhi put a soft smile on her face and looked up into Tamaki's eyes. Almost immediately he let go of Haruhi and turned away, covering his face with his hand in an attempt to hide his blush.

"Why is she so damn cute?!" He mumbled loudly.

After everyone else changed and got towels, the Hosts made their way to the massive swimming pool, complete with a water slide on one side, a waterfall (There was a little alcove beneath the waterfall with a place to sit), and 2 hot tubs. Haruhi was the only one truly shocked by it (everyone else was used to extravagant pools, as they all had similar ones at their own summer homes.) Hikaru was the first one to get in, performing the 'commoner's cannonball' and making a splash. Next was Mori climbing in and Honey jumping in after with a pink inner tube around his waist. Haruhi and Tamaki both chose not to get in right away. Haruhi simply sat on the edge with her feet in the water and Tamaki laid down in a deck chair and closed his eyes. Drink in hand (where the drink came from, no one was quite certain), Kyoya took a seat in a deck chair near Tamaki. Sakura was still standing at the edge of the pool, staring down into the blue water at her reflection.

"Come on, Sakura!" Hikaru called, laying on his back, "Water's perfect."

"I-uh-I think I'm gonna just sit down. But thanks for offering." She said, backing towards a deck chair.

Kaoru grabbed her arm before she could sit down, "Oh, come on, Sakura-chan."

"Kaoru, I don't…I can't – "

"She can't swim."

Kaoru whipped around and looked at Kyoya who took a sip of his drink, "You didn't know that, Kaoru?"

Releasing her arm, Kaoru let out a nervous laugh, "No. I didn't know that."

Sakura had sat down in the deck chair and had her fingers laced and placed on her lap, "No one ever taught me, so I never learned."

"I could teach you now." Kaoru got on his knees in front of her, "It's not hard."

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine here." Sakura leaned back in her chair, "You go ahead and have fun."

Kaoru let out a sigh and stood up, "Come on, Sakura." He said, somewhat whining, "I want to teach you. I won't let you drown or anything and even if something did happen, the lifeguard could get you."

He pointed to the opposite side of the pool where a tall, tanned man in sunglasses sat in a deck chair. He smiled at Sakura, then turned his attention back to Honey who was drifting lazily across the pool followed by Mori.

_They have a lifeguard for their pool?_

"Please?"

Sakura let out a soft sigh and stood up, "Okay, fine. But if I ever want to get out, you can't stop me."

"Deal." Kaoru smiled and stood up, pulling Sakura up with him.

The two made their way over to the pool and Kaoru jumped in. Sakura just stood there.

"You have to get in." Kaoru pointed out.

"I'm not jumping."

"Then don't jump. Climb in and hang onto the wall."

"Oh…right…I knew that."

"Sure you did."

Glaring slightly at Kaoru, Sakura slowly climbed into the pool and hung onto the wall. Kaoru put his arms out and floated a little ways away from Sakura.

"Okay, now come to me."

"I can't swim, remember?" She said, gripping tightly to the wall.

"Yes, I know. Just paddle with your hands and kick with your feet. We're in the shallow end, so you should be able to touch the bottom anyway."

Taking a deep breath, she made floundered over to Kaoru who laughed a little when she gripped to him.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Kaoru put his arms around her.

Meanwhile, Kyoya was watching the two carefully. He wasn't all that happy with the situation, mainly because Sakura's drowning would result in a very angry Kimiko family and a full out apology from the Ootori family. Ever since Kyoya and Sakura became and 'item', Sakura's mother has entrusted her daughter's safety in Kyoya and his family's hands. And so, it only made sense that Kyoya be a little untrusting of Kaoru teaching techniques.

"She would be much better off with a proper swim teacher." Kyoya mused and took a sip of his drink.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yes, Dad?"

Tamaki turned in his seat to face Kyoya, "Are you okay with this?"

"With what?"

"With Kaoru and Sakura's closeness." Tamaki said smiling slightly, "Not just in the pool, but overall. If there's anyone in the club she's closer to than you, it's Kaoru-kun."

"What right do I have to keep her away from her friends?" Kyoya said and put his cup down on the ground, "I am perfectly fine with it."

"You don't seem to be. You're quite protective of her." Tamaki turned on his back and closed his eyes.

"I've been tasked with taking care of her. I have to be."

"You were protective of her before her mother asked that favor of you. Kyoya…you're jealous."

"And you're an idiot."

Tamaki laughed and turned back on his side to face the Shadow King, "So you admit that you are jealous?"

"No. I admit that you are an idiot. I am not jealous."

"Kaoru is the same age as Sakura, whereas you're older than her by two years. I think they relate better to each other."

"We relate."

Tamaki stared at him for a minute. Was Kyoya…for one small instance…showing vulnerability? His smile faded to a smirk, "Kyoya, it amazes me how oblivious you can be at times."

"And how, may I ask, am I being oblivious?"

Tamaki turned onto his back again, this time pulling his sunglasses down over his eyes, "You're brilliant in almost everything. A genius. Yet, when it comes to matters of the heart, you're completely clueless. You do so well in the Host Club, and yet…"

His voice trailed off and Kyoya just stared at the blond for a minute, then let out a sigh.

_If anyone is clueless as to the feelings of their hearts, it's you, idiot._

Kyoya looked back at Kaoru and Sakura in the pool. Sakura had, apparently, got used to moving around in the water on her own and was paddling circles around Kaoru. Kaoru smiled and watched her, then grabbed her by the waist, receiving a laugh and a small hug in reply. Kyoya's eyes narrowed on the two, but more so on Kaoru.

"_Kyoya, you're jealous…"_

He scoffed, and picked his drink up again, completely dismissing his conversation with Tamaki from his mind

* * *

Judging by reviews of the last chapter, a lot of people didn't like Sakura and Kyoya. :frowns: Most of you want Kaoru and Sakura together, which makes me sad, because I love Kyoya. haha. Not that I don't love Kaoru, but, yeah…haha. ANYWAY, there was some SakuxKao love in this chapter (as you could see by the pool scene) and there will be plenty more to come in the future. But, take note that Kyoya might be jealous. tehehehe. Not a very pretty sight. Leave reviews!


	16. Doki Doki

This chapter isn't part of the 5 day countdown to the end of the Spring Break arc really, but it's MAJORLY KEY to the development of the relationship of two people in particular… coughcough And I apologize for it being so short. And also (haha, I have a lot to say) anything **in bold in the chapter is sound effects. **Kinda like in the manga. lol. I'm pretty sure this chapter will satisfy the SakuKao lovers. lol. Enjoy!

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18: Doki Doki (Heart Pounding)

Sakura and Kyoya sat at a small, round table in Kyoya's room on the evening of the first day. They were having tea together. Discussing various things. The Host Club, their families, Sakura's songs. It was, however, getting late and Sakura was getting tired.

_Hikaru and Kaoru are probably waiting for me. They said they wouldn't go to sleep until I was there._

"I think I'm going to go to bed now." Sakura said and stood up, "Unless there was something else you wanted."

"No. You can go to sleep." Kyoya stood up as well, "I think I will go to bed too."

"Alright." She smiled, "I'll see you in the morning then."

Kyoya simply nodded and pulled his glasses off, then walked past Sakura towards the bathroom. Sakura watched him for a second before grabbing him by the arm and pulling him back.

"What is it?" He questioned, looking down at her.

Sakura said nothing. All she did was smile for a moment, then, standing on her toes, leaned in and kissed Kyoya softly on the lips.

"Oyasumi nasai, Aijin"

And with that, she left, leaving Kyoya to ponder those departing words.

"Aijin …ne?"

_(Side note Oyasumi nasai, Aijin means Goodnight lover or Goodnight my love. Aijin by itself means lover.)_

Sakura made her way down the hall to Hikaru and Kaoru's room. She knocked gently before pushing it open and poking her head in. The twins were sitting on the bed looking at a book together in their pajamas.

"I'm here." She said and stepped into the room.

Hikaru closed the book and tossed it lazily onto the nightstand "Finally. You're here. I've been waiting to go to sleep."

"You could have without me!"

"Kaoru insisted that we stay up until you came back from Kyoya-senpai's room."

"Why?" Sakura shut the door behind her and walked up to the bed.

Kaoru shrugged, "It just seemed like the right thing to do. But now that you're here, we can all go to sleep."

"Right."

There were certainly more than enough rooms for everyone to have their own, but Kaoru insisted that Sakura stay in a room with them. Sakura, despite Kyoya's opposition to the proposal, agreed. Kaoru had also suggested Haruhi stay with them, but Haruhi quickly said no to that and was granted her own room (right next to Tamaki's room of course 'A father must watch over his precious daughter at night'). Sakura let out a yawn and climbed onto the bed, lying down and staring up at the ceiling as Kaoru turned off the lights. Soon, the three of them were in the bed together, Hikaru on Sakura's left, holding her left hand and Kaoru on the right, holding her right hand.

* * *

Kaoru shifted positions again as he desperately tried to grab hold of the precious concept called sleep, but to no avail. He heaved a sigh and sat up, still holding the hand of a sleeping Sakura. He looked down at her, smiling softly.

_**Doki Doki…**_

Kaoru's heartbeat hastened as Sakura unconsciously gripped his hand tighter.

"I wonder what you're dreaming about…" He said softly, "Hopefully, they're good dreams."

He laid back down and positioned himself so he was on his side facing Sakura.

"I bet you're dreaming about the songs you're writing…you're dreaming about finishing them and everyone loving them." He said softly and gently touched the side of her face, "You're so talented."

His hand grazed her cheek, then moved down to her silky hair, "And…pretty. The Host Club is lucky to have you. I'm lucky to have you."

Kaoru ran his fingers through her hair a few times before tucking it behind her ear.

_**Doki Doki…**_

Kaoru let out a sigh, relaxing himself and bringing his heartbeat back to normal.

_So this is what it must feel like…to really like someone. And want them to be with you only. To care for them more than anything. I finally realized it. I wish it hadn't taken so long to figure it out…it seems like it was so obvious now. My heart kept pounding…it always feels like there's a lump in my throat, and her holding my hand right now, I feel so…_

Kaoru shook his head and looked away from Sakura, "But she loves Kyoya…"

Sakura turned onto her side and let out a soft moan in her sleep. Her hand slipped from Kaoru's grasp and Kaoru looked back at her, sighing softly.

"How could I expect you to hold my hand? Even in your sleep…you're still in love with Kyo…ahh – "

_**Doki Doki…**_

Sakura shifted positions again, this time bringing herself close to Kaoru with her arm wrapped around him. Kaoru just stared at her for a minute, a bit surprised by her unconscious gesture.

"What could you possibly be dreaming about to make you do that…?"

Kaoru hesitated for a moment, questioning whether or not it would be safe to do it. He wrapped his arms around Sakura, pulling her close. He let out a soft sigh.

_**Doki Doki…**_

_I think, Sakura, the only time I'll get to hold you like this is in your sleep. During the day, if I were to attempt this, no doubt you would reject me…_

Kaoru closed his eyes, "Oyasumi nasai, Aijin…"

* * *

Important though the chapter was, it almost didn't make it into the story. lol. It was originally gonna be like…a Lost Chapter that I would post after the story is over, but it seemed to fit so :shrugs: haha. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! And I apologize again for it being so short! When I was typing it word, it looked so much longer than it really is T-T. By the way, if you wanna ask me any questions you can go to my profile and click 'Send Message' and ask me whatever about any of my stories and I'll be sure to answer them.


	17. The Bud That Won't Open

I apologize for taking so long to update. I have a lot of the chapters of this story already written, but this was one of the chapters NOT already written and I had to write on the spot. When I started writing, I had NO idea where to go from the previous chapter and I ended up just writing down an extra chapter that really had nothing to do with the story. :sighs:

It was basically about Tamaki bringing customers to the Summer House and having Host Club activities there. After I wrote it, I realized that there was no connection to the previous chapter and it wouldn't transition well to the next chapter, so I scrapped it and started over. I'll probably post it later as a bonus chapter. Anyway, THAT is the reason why it took so long to update. I promise to not take so long to update in the future. This was just one of those situations where the author had serious writer's block.

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19: The Bud that Won't Open

The Host sat around the table the next morning chatting amongst themselves and nibbling on various snacks. All were present, except for Sakura, who was still sleeping. It was vacation after all. What reason would she have to get up early?

"Tono, it's almost 11:30, shouldn't we wake Sakura-chan up now?" Hikaru said and rapped his fingers on the table.

"Just let her be." Kaoru said lazily waving his hand.

"I'd like to think you'd want to see her more than anyone." Hikaru mumbled under his breath and stuck a piece of bread in his mouth.

"Hikaru, shut-up!"

Hikaru grinned, "Sorry, Kaoru. I'm just being honest."

"Well your honesty is annoying me…"

"Ohayou, minna."

The hosts turned their attention to the doorway. Smiles crept over their faces at seeing the girl. She was sporting a white sundress with blue swirls on it and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Saku-chan, you look so cute!" Honey said.

"Thanks, Honey-senpai." She sat down in between the twins, "Hikaru, leave Kaoru alone."

A blush crossed Kaoru's face, and Hikaru grinned again, "Teasing him is fun sometimes!"

"You tease him enough during your Twincest act. Just leave it at that." She leaned on the table.

"Did you sleep okay, Sakura?" Haruhi questioned from across the table.

"Mhm." Sakura smiled, then sat up straight and laced her fingers together, "But I had a strange dream. I mean…it started out pretty normal, but then, someone came up from behind and put their arms around me. I never saw who it was though. Every time I turned around, their face was blurred."

Kaoru had to look away from the rest of the hosts to hide his face as he blushed _I was in her dream…because of what I did last night…She didn't know it was me, but still…_

"You slept in very late today." Kyoya said leaned back in his chair, "You must have been very tired from yesterday."

"I was tired, but actually, I woke up about 2 hours ago."

"Really?" Hikaru leaned on his hand, "Then why didn't you come out?"

Sakura grinned and pointed at Tamaki. In response, the King shot her a strange look, cocking his head to the side, "Me?"

"You."

"What about me?"

"Your song. I finished it!"

Tamaki beamed and stood up straight, "Let me see! Daddy wants to see!"

"Daddy…?"

"Where is it, Sakura-chan, let me see!!"

Sighing softly, Sakura stood up from the table, then motioned for Tamaki to follow her back to her room. Obediently, Tamaki followed, fingers laced and excited look on his face. He resembled a child about to get a large birthday gift or something along those lines. Down the velvety red carpeted hall the two traveled and to Sakura's room. She pushed the door open and walked over to the desk situated in the corner of the room by the window.

"Here, Tono." She opened the notebook and turned to the page that had 'Guilty Beauty Love' written in curvy letters at the top, then handed it to him.

Eagerly, Tamaki read over the lyrics. Sakura smiled and watched him _No doubt he loves them…_

"Ahhh…Sakura-chan." The King suddenly took on a poised, elegant pose and gazed in some off-handed direction, "The words on this paper suit me so perfectly. The harsh struggle of a man looking to portray his feelings! So beautiful that it's a sin…"

Sakura shook her head, "Uhh…yeah…okay."

"But, one question." He looked back down at the paper, "Why is Kaoru's name in a heart in the corner of the page?"

"It says 'Kyoya', Tono." Sakura raised and eyebrow, "What are you looking at?"

"No. I'm quite certain it says Kaoru." He held the notebook in front of her face and pointed to the name in a heart in the corner, "See. K-A-O--"

"I know how to spell 'Kaoru'!" She snatched the notebook from him, "And I'm sure that it says Kyo--Kaoru….?"

Lo and behold, Kaoru's name was written in a little heart in the top corner of the page. Sakura stared blankly at it.

"I--I--maybe zone out or something…and wrote it by mistake." She snapped the notebook shut, "I'm writing his and Hikaru's song next, so, that might have been why."

She shoved past Tamaki and back to the door.

"Last night in your dream…" Tamaki said slowly, still facing the desk "It was Kaoru, wasn't it?"

Sakura stopped mid-step, hand outstretched to grab the doorknob, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You dreamt of someone holding you." Tamaki turned around and looked at her back, "You claimed their face was blurred, but that was a lie, right?"

"Baka…it' wasn't a lie. I didn't see who it was and even if I did, it would have been Kyoya!" She threw the door open, "Not Kaoru!"

And with that said (or screamed rather), Sakura dashed out, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process. Tamaki, still standing at the opposite side of the room smiled to himself.

"Spring is the time love often blooms." He mumbled, "But some buds can be stubborn…and want to stay closed."

Sakura was nearly halfway down the hall when she stopped moving and stared straight down at the floor, gripping tightly to her notebook.

_What does he know about my dreams? Or my feelings? What does that idiot know about anything? So what if it was Kaoru? It doesn't mean anything. It was just a dream…And I meant to write Kyoya on my paper, I know I did._

Heaving a sigh, Sakura continued down the hall, this time at normal pace, and made her way back into the dining area.

"Where's Tama-chan?" Honey questioned as Sakura sat down next to Kyoya.

"Still in the room." Sakura said and put the notebook on her lap, "He should be out soon."

"Let's see the new song!" Hikaru reached for the notebook, only to have his hand smacked away.

"No! I-it's…it's not ready."

Hikaru shot her a strange look, "You said it was done."

"Well…there's a lot of grammatical errors and stuff." She held the notebook to her chest, "So no one else can look at it ye--ahh!"

The notebook was snatched from her hands so abruptly that she nearly toppled out of her chair. Kyoya flipped it open.

"Kyoya-kun, stop!"

Sakura reached for the notebook, but an outstretched hand against her chest kept her back as Kyoya looked at the page. Heaving a sigh, Sakura sunk into her chair, bracing herself for the worse. Kyoya's expression remained just as passive and calm as usual as he read the lyrics over. On several occasions, Sakura noticed his eyes darting upward to where Kaoru's name was enclosed within a pink heart. But to it, he did not react. Once he was through, he closed the notebook and handed it back to her.

"There are a few grammatical errors, but they can be easily fixed. You can work on it while we record Honey-senpai's song at the studio today."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Studio?"

"We're recording my song today!" Honey beamed and hugged Usa-chan, "We're gonna drive back to Kyo-chan's family's studio and record my song so everyone can hear it when he get back to school after vacation!"

Sakura smiled. She hadn't been to the studio when _Mata Ashita _was recorded, so this would be a first for her. She was eager to see what it looked like and how things worked. But more than anything, she looked forward to directing Honey and hearing him song. She stood up from the table, holding the notebook to her side.

"When are we leaving?"

"We can go once Tamaki comes back." Kyoya looked up at her, "The car is already waiting out front.

* * *

haha. all that wait and we get a not so great chapter. But it did give some greatly wanted hints at SakuxKao. So…yeah. Leave reviews! :smiles:


	18. Commoner's TakeOut

OMG WE'RE AT CHAPTER 20!! I'm like…jumping in my seat here. 20 chapters. Wow, and 100something reviews! Big thanks to everyone who reads and sends me questions and stuff. It's such a good feeling to know that people like this story. To be honest, I was SOOOO self-conscious. I mean, Kyoya's kinda OOC and Sakura's a bit Mary-Sue and I know how people can be on here about that sort of thing, but I've gotten nothing but support, compliments, and constructive criticism, so thanks. I appreciate it a lot.

Now, I shall respond to some reviews

**YAY, SakuKao!! :D Looks like Sakura is having confused feelings. Can't wait for the next chapter. There's sure to be more twins-ness if she's doing their song.  
**She is doing their song next, but she won't actually start working on it until they get back to school at the end of Spring Break. So, not a lot of twin-ness until then.

**Wow...alright, I think I've decided. I'm rooting for Kaoru, but I do feel bad for Kyoya, seeing Kaoru;s name in the heart and all...and yet, I'll get over it soon. Heh, I'm so mean. This chapter was...not the best, but not the worst either.  
**If you're mean for getting over it, then I must be downright evil for writing it in the first place. :p. And, yes, I agree with you. After spending so much time writing, it didn't turn out to well. And no doubt there were grammer errors. haha. But, the rest of the chapters should be better (SHOULD BE. Not making any promises)

**... over all, it's pretty good. one thing I must say is that... it's kinda hitting Mary-sue territory. :o) but I guess that's the fun of writting Fics sometimes.  
**WAHHH! Where do you see Mary-Sue? Tell me!

**Writers block is a frickin plague. It's taking over I swear. I have it. You have it. And about 3 other authors that I read the stories of have it. It sucks. It sucks supremely. I understand the writers block stuff so I shall not rush :3  
**Couldn't agree with you more. - And thanks for not rushing. People saying 'Update Soon!' and what not is very frustrating and doesn't help. So, I appreciate you not rushing.

And on a final note, this will probably be one of the most amusing chapters in the story. I almost fell out laughing as I wrote it. lol. This chapter doesn't focus, really, at all on any relationships. There's a couple subtle hints of it at the end, but not by much. This is just a fun, light-hearted chapter for you readers to enjoy and not have to think to much on KyoxSaku or SakuxKao.

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20: Commoner's Take-Out

"Okay, senpai, let's try this again." Sakura heaved a sigh, "Remember, it's 'With one flick of the magic wand, Usa-chan transforms into Kuma-chan. This is Tama-chan's Kuma-chan. This isnt' cute at all."

Somewhere off in a corner of the room, Tamaki let out a hurt sigh. Sakura rolled her eyes and hit the 'Playback' button to get the track going and allow Honey-senpai to sing again. This was maybe the…7th take? Yeah, that's about right. 6 failed attempts at recording the song. Sakura leaned back in her chair as Honey started once again.

"With one flick of the magic wand, Usa-chan…U-Usa-chan…"

"Ughh!" Sakura covered her face with her hands and let out a noise that was something between a sob and a moan, "Senpai, the lyrics are right in front of you if forget! Please just look at them!"

"Hai!" Honey replied, hopping in place for a moment, then looking down at the words, "Usa-chan transforms into Kuma-chan…"

"Kyoya, you take care of it." Sakura moved her chair to the side and allowed Kyoya to pull up a chair and sit down, "I can't do this anymore."

Kyoya sat down and hit the 'Playback' Button. They left the Summer house at around 12 and traveled the 2 hour trip to the Ootori…Recording Studio. No, it wasn't just a little set-up in the basement of Kyoya's house. It was a separate building about 10 miles away from the Ootori Hospital. According to Kyoya, it's the newest addition to the Ootori bussiness. And so, in studio 5, Honey attempted to record Doki Doki Waku Waku, but as he kept forgetting the lyrics, the process was proving unsucessful. Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi all left some time earlier to get some food and, according to Hikaru, something to motivate Honey (_I shudder to think at what it will be)_

"We're back!"

The door opened and Hikaru and Kaoru clamored through with bags of take-out food in their arms and shoved their way through the other hosts to a table against the wall. They dropped the bags down, then turned back towards the door.

"Haruhi! Hurry up!"

"Hai! Hai!"

Haruhi came jogging in shortly after her call and dropped the bag she was holding on the table.

"We brought the food!" Hikaru said proudly.

"Commoner's take-out food!" Kaoru said and motioned towards the bag

"Because Commoners can't afford regular, higher class food, they often stop at places that make low quality, poorly tasting food and purchase it in bulk for extremely low prices." Hikaru reached into the bag and pulled out a silver container with a paper cover, "And it comes in these little containers so that Commoners can don't have to waste dishes and water!"

Haruhi, let out a moan and leaned against the wall. As the only 'Commoner' amongst the Hosts, she was already familiar with take-out. However, the warped description Hikaru gave was just a tad annoying to her. The rests of the Hosts (Excluding Sakura who was familiar with Commoner ways as well, being related to Haruhi and all) found it quite intriguing. And of course, Tamaki was the most amused. He was the first to make it to the table and closely examine the food.

"There are large amounts of Commoner noodles in here!" He peeled back the paper cover of the larges container, "And it's already hot and cooked! And in here there are soggy, steamed vegetables. Interesting. No doubt they were once frozen. Commoners don't have time to tend to vegetable gardens and grow their own!"

"How do we eat it, Tono?" Kaoru quesioned, staring intently into a container of rice.

"We are to use chopsticks and eat straight from the containers!" Tamaki dug around in bag for some, "They should be neatly packaged in little white wrappers…AH!"

He pulled out several pairs of chopsticks wrapped in white paper then handed one to each of the twins.

"This is the way commoners eat!" He said and pulled his chopsticks apart, "Sitting with family around a kotatsu and eating from the same container while taking part in trivial conversation."

"I see!" Hikaru pulled his chopsticks apart.

Kaoru did the same, "Itadakimasu!"

Haruhi might as well have had a rain cloud over her head to go with the embarrassed and annoyed look on her face. Sakura, on the other hand, was near tears as she tried to hold in her laughter. Kyoya was watching the group and jotting down something in his notepad (Where he got the notebook from, no one will ever know. They always seem to pop out of nowhere.) Honey had emerged from the recording room and was watching in awe, and Mori stood watching, his emotionless expression no different than usual.

"Senpai…" Haruhi muttered, "You don't have to eat from the container. We have paper pl – "

Tamaki let out a loud, exaggerated gasp and whipped around, staring wide-eyed at Haruhi. He stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Haruhi, is it true that Commoners who can't afford actual dishware use plates and such formed from ordinary notebook paper?!"

And it was then that Sakura nearly fell off her chair laughing.

"No, senpai, it's not notebook paper. It's – "

"You don't have to hide from me." He embraced Haruhi with a very tight hug, "Daddy understands! Kyoya! Paper! We need paper so that we can eat this food!"

"Hurry, Tono, it's getting cold!" Kaoru commented and picked at the vegetables.

Sakura inhaled deep breaths to gain her composure. Kyoya obediantly tore out 3 pieces of notebook paper from his pad and handed it to Tamaki.

"Kyoya, you do know that you're not supposed to use actual paper, right?" Sakura questioned between breaths.

"Common sense says that." Kyoya continued writing in his notebook.

"Then why – "

"I'm interested to see what will happen."

"I can tell you what's gonna happen."

Tamaki handed a piece of paper to each twin, then held one himself. The three of them all had very serious expressions on their faces.

"Alright…let's try this."

_They can't possibly be THAT stupid…_

And yet, they were. Tamaki put his paper on the floor, then poured a serving of noodles on it. Tears of utter joy ran down Sakura's face as she watched the scene. Haruhi had even started smiling and, attempting to be somewhat dignified, held back her laughter. The twins watched in awe as Tamaki then put some vegetables on his paper, then served each of them. Satisfied, Tamaki held up his chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu!"

Haruhi finally let her laughter out as she watched the three eat from the paper. Apparently proud of their King for overcoming such a difficult task, Mori and Honey applauded. Kyoya applauded as well, amused that Tamaki had finally passed the line of complete and utter stupidity, and the girls clapped because it was just so damn funny to watch. Shortly after that, Haruhi remedied the situation by transferring Tamaki and the twins food to paper plates and handing it back to them, then serving everyone else (Kyoya refused. "Such food would never suit my tastes"). The meal was full of conversation and laughter and when they were done, all the plates and chopsticks were tossed into the garbage can.

"And now, our perfectly thought out plan to motivate Honey into correctly recording his song." Kaoru held up the remaining bag, "It's completely fool proof."

He opened the bag and pulled out one large, circular container with a plastic cover. Smirking, Kaoru pulled the plastic top off. Honey immediately dropped Usa-chan to the floor and dove for the table, only to be held back by Hikaru. The tiny blonde kicked and screamed to get away.

"Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!"

"If senpai can record his song properly, he can have as many slices of this chocolate cake as he wants." Kaoru said, holding the cover behind his back, "But he can not have any if he continues to mess up."

Honey stopped kicking and demanded that Hikaru let him go. Kaoru put the cover back on the cake, then nodded at Hikaru. Hikaru put the boy down and he made a mad dash for the recording room, putting the headphones back on and jumping in place.

"I'm ready! I'm ready!"

Smiling, Sakura hit the 'Playback' button. Honey successfully recorded the song and was rewarded with a big slice of cake. Everyone else got slices too, of course. It was something of a victory party. The Host Club's second single, Doki Doki Waku Waku, was recorded and ready to go. The next song to be recorded was Guilty Beauty Love, once it was 'edited' (Namely, Kaoru's name removed from the corner so everyone else could see). Remember this, Sakura grabbed her notebook from her back and put the pen to the paper, ready to scratch out the younger twin's name. Hesitating only for a moment, she scribbled it out and closed the notebook. She tossed her pen into the bag, then sat back down in her seat and handed the notebook to Kyoya.

"I edited it." She said to him, "And I apologize for the errors. I didn't mean to put them there."

As far as everyone else was concerned, it was just some misspellings and grammatical errors. But it had a much deeper meaning for Kyoya and Sakura. Looking her right in the eye, Kyoya nodded and took the notebook.

"The music will be ready by then end of the week."

"I actually have some of the melody planned out. I can play it on the guitar if you want."

"We'll see." Kyoya directed his attention back to his notebook where he continued jotting down various notes.

Letting out a soft sigh, Sakura leaned back in her chair, then smiled and re-joined the discussion of what the theme would be once the Host Club returned to school on Monday. An old 40's – 50's Mob theme seemed quite popular.

* * *

Haha, that mention of the next theme was a crappy way to end it. lol. But whatever, it's not that important. lol. Hope you laughed as much as I did in that chapter. - Leave reviews!


	19. Arguments and Approvals

I'm back with another update. Did everyone have a good Mother's Day? (Yes that was 2 days ago, but go with me here) I did…well…kinda. I got paint on my mom's chair because I through it at my little brother. haha. ANYWAY, I'd like to take a sec to reply to a review I received from Silvia.

I'm not copying and pasting the whole thing and replying to that, it would take up to much space. I just want to comment on her mention of her not knowing much about Sakura and my plotline being Mary-Sue. I'm sorry that you haven't grasped Sakura yet. I believe I've done a good job at nailing down her personality. In a nutshell, she's a no-nonsense kind of girl with a sensitive side and a big heart. As for the plotline being Mary-Sue, I don't see that at all. I think it's very unique. I haven't seen it before, but then again, I haven't read but so many fan fictions.

I appreciate the reviews and comments. I've enlisted a Beta Reader and (assuming she/he replies) will begin work on the next chapter. Enjoy this update! Oh, and there's just a bit of cursing. Just a little. ha.

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21: Arguments and Approvals (A bit short)

Wednesday was pretty much a free-for-all for everyone. No one Host had a plan for everyone, so they pretty much just laid around by the pool, floated around the gardens, sat around the dining room table, and so on and so forth. It wasn't until Thursday that things began to get interesting. The day started off with Kyoya and Sakura. The two were together in Kyoya's room. Sakura was leaning on his shoulder and watching him design the cover, on his computer, for Tamaki's song (Guilty Beauty Love).

Sakura let out a sigh and pecked Kyoya's shoulder before saying, "Kyoya?"

"Hm?"

The songwriter bit her lip, not entirely sure if she wanted to face the subject circling her mind. The subject? Affection. Well, Kyoya's lack there of. Sakura knew from the get go that Kyoya wasn't going to be like most boyfriends. He wasn't the type to surprise girls with gifts or take hold of a girl's hand. He wasn't the type to whisper in a girl's ear 'I love you' or something along those lines. But Sakura wasn't expecting him to be SO lackluster. And, it was starting to bug her. She was showing the affection, and he was just taking it and giving nothing in response.

"Do you really care about me?"

"Why do you ask?"

Sakura looked up at him, "Why do you question my questioning? Can't you just say yes or no?"

She let out a sigh and moved her chair away from him, then leaned on the table. Kyoya glanced over at her and rolled his eyes.

"What is it?"

"What is what?" Sakura turned her head and faced him.

"What's the matter?" Kyoya said, not breaking his gaze from his laptop, "You're thinking there's something wrong with us."

Sakura blinked a few times, then put her forehead to the table. _If he always seems to know what I'm thinking, why can't he figure out what's wrong…?_

"You're so unaffectionate." Sakura mumbled, "How do I know you really care if you won't show it?"

Kyoya let out a soft sigh and pushed his laptop aside. Sakura's eyes followed the computer as it moved, then kept her eyes locked on it, but her gaze was drawn right to the dark eyes of her lover as he placed his hand on her chin and brought her face close. Sakura closed her eyes as her lips were captured by Kyoya's. At this point, Sakura would usually put her arms around him or something along those lines and savor the moment, as they didn't come to often.

_But that's just it. IT DOESN'T COME OFTEN. He only does this when something's wrong. Not to say 'Thinking of you' or 'Love you' or things like that._

She let out a moan and pushed the bespectacled boy away from her, "No. That's not gonna work, this isn't right! You can't just do that when it's convenient."

Kyoya rolled his eyes, "What are you expecting from me, Sakura?"

Her heart skipped a beat when he said her name, "I'm expecting you to show that you care. I know I sound like some whiny, clingy, lovesick puppy or something, but I can't help it. Your lack of emotion is getting on my nerves. How am I supposed to know if there is actually a person who cares behind those cold eyes and that emotionless expression?"

Meanwhile, another pair was having an argument as well. The subject of the argument wasn't at all similar to that of Sakura and Kyoya's, but it was just as heated and one-sided. One-sided in the sense that one twin was doing most of the talking.

"You were holding her that night, right, Kaoru?" Hikaru teased, "How pathetic."

"You're being so mean, Hikaru!" Kaoru snapped, "Just before this week started, you were saying how much you wanted me to talk to Sakura and try to get closer, and now you won't stop teasing me about it!"

Hikaru just shrugged and picked at his nails. Kaoru let out a frustrated groan and approached the bed his brother was sitting on.

"Why are you doing this?" Kaoru said and got on the bed.

"What? Teasing you?"

"That and egging me towards her."

"I'm not egging you towards her."

"You are and have been since you figured out that I liked her. And you've been teasing me too. It's a mix of the both. Your actions are contradictory! You can't tease and support at the same time."

Hikaru rolled his eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Stubborn as ever the older twin. So stubborn that it upset the younger one to no end, and at that point, he was at his limit. What did Hikaru want? Did he want Kaoru with Sakura, or not?

"What do you want, Hikaru?" Kaoru questioned.

"What?"

Kaoru got to his knees and pushed Hikaru down on the bed, pinning him down by his wrists. The elder twin wriggled a little, trying to break free, but the younger would not release him.

"What do you want, Hikaru?" Kaoru repeated, this time softer, "Do you approve of her or not?"

"A-approve, what are you talking about, Kaoru?" Hikaru said, still fighting to get away, "You're not making any sense!"

Kaoru shut his eyes and gripped tighter to Hikaru's wrists, "I wouldn't do anything if you didn't like it, Hikaru. If you don't like Sakura…if you don't approve of her for me…you know I wouldn't even make an effort to be with her. You're more important to me…"

His grip loosened and he rested his forehead on Hikaru's chest. Hikaru looked down at him, his mouth slightly ajar.

"If you don't approve, I won't do anything." He repeated softly, "You know I won't. So just tell me."

"Kaoru…"

--

"Why do you continue to press this subject?!"

"Because you refuse to answer me!"

Sakura and Kyoya were face to face. No, they weren't kissing. They were still arguing. The argument had grown so large that Sakura's throat was starting to hurt so much from yelling and the mechanical pencil Kyoya had by his laptop had been shattered to pieces from Kyoya's vice-like grip.

The bespectacled boy let out a frustrated groan and sat back down in his chair, rubbing his temple, "I refuse to argue with you."

"Answer the damn question then." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't even remember what the question was now!"

Sakura rolled his eyes, "Why are such an emotionless, unaffectionate prick?!"

Kyoya glared, "That was not the original question."

"Let's just say I revised it a little." She growled.

Kyoya adjusted his glasses and let out an aggravated sigh. Sakura sat down as well, crossing one leg over the other. A sigh left her lips and she looked away from Kyoya.

"Emotionless pain…" Grumbled the songwriter.

"Argumentative bitch…"

Sakura snapped her gaze back to Kyoya, "What did you just call me?"

"Argumentative bitch." Kyoya repeated, staring directly at her.

Sakura glared daggers at Kyoya before smacking him clear across the face. Just like when she smacked him before, Kyoya just sat there. Not blinking or, at least it seemed that way, breathing.

"Where do you get off call me that?!"

"Where do you get off always smacking me?" Kyoya mumbled.

"That was only the second time and you deserved it both times." Sakura stood up, "What kind of boyfriend are you? You treat all the Host club customers like they're queens and when you get to me, I'm just some other girl who hangs around you. You're an emotionless, pain in the ass. I mean, look at Tamaki, Mori, Honey, Hikaru, Kaoru, they all treat customers kindly, then they keep it up. You don't!"

Kyoya stood up, towering over Sakura, "What do any of them have to do with us?" Translation: What does _Kaoru _have to do with us?

"W-what? I just explained it to you! God, Kyoya, I'm leaving. I can't take you anymore."

Sakura walked out the door and slammed it shut behind her. She let out a breath and started down the hall.

--

"_Well..yeah. I don't have anything against her. I approve."_

"_Thanks, Hikaru."_

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In chapter 22, something happens that I'm 99.9 certain most of you will enjoy. - So, lots of reviews and I'll udpate sooner.


	20. What It Takes

Alright, people, it's finally here! I apologize for not updating sooner. (1) This chapter took a while to write and revise (2) I was waiting for my stuff to return to Quizilla (See my note in Accidentally In Love, my Furuba story, if for details if you're interested) (3) My mom got out of surgery and was sick (4) I was sick.

Lots of things got in the way. lol. My being sick seriously messed with my head and made it harder for me to focus. But, I'm thinking straight now (Though, I'm not yet completely healthy) and can update! No questions or reviews to answer this time around. So enjoy! It's pretty long. I think it was about 6 pages in word and is 2867 words in total. I almost broke it up, but I know how some people like long chapters so…yeah. lol. Plus, the ending satisfies, to some extent, all the SakuKao supporters. hehe.

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22: What it Takes

(It's still Thursday)

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry." Haruhi said, wrapping her arms in a comforting hug around her cousin.

"Why does Kyoya have to be so mean?" Sakura sobbed, "He's mean, emotionless, insensitive…"

Haruhi rubbed her back, "He was just angry, Sakura. He'll be fine in a little bit, then you can go back and apologize."

Sakura pulled away from her cousin and wiped her eyes. After her argument with Kyoya, Sakura went straight to Haruhi's room and cried out the entire thing into Haruhi's shoulder. Always a good listener the girl was.

"I have nothing to apologize for. If anything he should apologize for calling me a-a..." She let out a sigh and put her head back against Haruhi's shoulder.

Haruhi heaved a sigh and put her arms around her.

"Haruhi!"

The bedroom door opened and two red-heads poked their heads in. Haruhi looked up.

"Hm?"

"Message from Tono." Hikaru said.

"All host club members meet in the dining room for a meeting on – " Kaoru's eyes locked on the sobbing girl, "What happened?"

"Kyoya-senpai and Sakura-chan got into an argument." Haruhi said as the younger twin stepped into the room and sat on the bed, putting a comforting hand on Sakura's back, "He called her a - "

"Haruhi, don't say it again!" Sakura whined and gripped to her shoulders.

Haruhi let out a sigh and mouthed to Kaoru the name. Kaoru's jaw dropped.

"I always knew Kyoya-senpai wasn't one to get angry, but who knew he'd go _that _far."

Kaoru continued to stroke Sakura's back. Hikaru stood at the doorway and let out a sigh, "Come on, guys, Tono's waiting."

"You go, Hikaru." Kaoru looked over at him, "Tell him that we'll be down in a few."

Hikaru sighed again and made his way downstairs to the dining room were Honey, Mori, Tamaki, and Kyoya all sat. Tamaki looked up when the twin sat down.

"Where are the others?" The blonde questioned.

"Sakura's crying upstairs and Haruhi and Kaoru are trying to calm her down." Hikaru said, leaning back in his seat, "They said they'll be down in a minute."

Honey's face fell, "Why's Saku-chan crying?"

Hikaru nodded at Kyoya, "Ask him."

"Huh?" Honey looked over at Kyoya, "What's Hika-chan talking about?"

"Sakura and I got into an argument." Kyoya said simply without looking up from the notebook he was writing in.

"Did you say you were sorry, Kyo-chan?" Honey questioned, pulling at his rabbit's ears, "We don't want Saku-chan to be sad, right? Remember the song? 'But we simply want to see your delighted face always '"

Tamaki smiled and laced his fingers together, "You sang that part, didn't you, Kyoya?"

"And mine and Kaoru's part?" Hikaru turned his attention to the bespectacled boy, "'Your sad face that has been crying until now, Look when it comes to us, we'll turn it into a smiling face before you know it.'"

"You even said that it was our message to her." came two voices in unison

Haruhi, accompanied by Kaoru, was standing at the doorway. The other hosts looked at them, Kyoya kept his gaze on the window ahead of him.

"Senpai, what you said to Sakura was mean." Kaoru said and approached his chair, "She was just trying to find out why you're so distant and you shot her down so harshly! You have to apologize!"

"I don't answer to you, Kaoru, nor do I take orders from you."

"Just apologize!"

"Kyoya, what exactly did you say to Sakura?" Tamaki interrupted.

Kyoya shook his head, "It's none of anyone's concern."

"It is our concern." Haruhi approached and stood behind Kyoya's chair, "Sakura is a friend to all of us and part of my family. For the sake of this club and your relationship with her, apologize to her!"

The room was silent. No one breathed. No one blinked. It remained that way for a few moments, then the silence was broken by the sound of footsteps echoing in the dining room. Sakura, not looking at anyone or anything but her own feet, walked in and sat down next to Honey. For a moment, no one even acknowledged her existence. Then, Kaoru took his seat next to Hikaru and Haruhi by Tamaki.

"Saku-chan…" Honey said timidly and put a small hand on her arm.

"I'm fine, Honey-senpai." Sakura said softly and put her hand atop his.

"But – "

"We're here for a meeting, aren't we?" Sakura looked at the tiny blonde, "I don't know about you, but I want to know what's going on. Don't you?"

The small almost invisible smile that appeared on Sakura's face made Honey grin and nod, "Mhm!"

"Then let us proceed." Tamaki said, taking an authoritative tone, "This meeting is to discuss what our theme will be on Monday upon returning to Host activities. Kyoya, our options please."

Kyoya flipped to another page in his notebook, "We'll decide this by a simple hand vote, but first, I'll explain the themes. Our first theme option is that of the fairytale Cinderella where we would take on the roles of the characters. For example – "

"Ah, just a minute, senpai." Hikaru raised his hand, "Is one of the options that 30's-40's Mob thing we came up with yesterday? If so, I vote for that one."

"It was originally an option, but if we were to do that, we would have to base everything off that issue of our manga. The storyline itself is – "

"We have a manga?" Honey cocked his head to the side.

"As of last week, yes."

Kyoya pulled a small paper booklet from the back of his notebook. On the cover was a hand-drawn picture of the Hosts in lat 30's early 40's clothing with smirks on their faces.

"Where'd that come from?" Hikaru questioned, "I thought we just had photo collections and such for merchandise?"

"Renge drew it herself and copied it, then sold it to Host Club customers last Monday. By the end of the week, sales had reached higher than the special edition Love Love Tamaki Interview and Photo Collection."

_Wow _Sakura thought

"And why can't copy from the manga?" Kaoru queried.

"As I was saying, the storyline itself is very thin and unimaginative. To reenact the events of it would be a very unwise choice for us."

"But it's popular." Sakura interjected, "Obviously the customers liked it, so if we were to reenact it, it makes sense that it would go over well, right?"

The Hosts nodded and chatter of agreement filled the air. Kyoya let out a soft sigh.

"OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"

The ground began to shake. The table and all the settings began to vibrate. The Hosts gripped to their seats as the floor opened up and a large rotating machine rose up. Renge was standing atop the machine in a pin strip jacket and matching skirt and hat. Smirking, she looked at the Hosts sitting around the table.

"How did she get here?" Sakura heard herself question, "Does she have one of these things everywhere or something?"

"What a wise decision to reenact the events of the super popular Host Club manga, Fear, Dread, and Deceit: Power Struggle of the Host Companies!" She said loudly, "It's a deep, gritty, heart-wrenching storyline of a struggle between he two most well known mob groups in 1942: The Cherry Blossom Renegades lead by Sakura and the Cloudy Eyed Manipulators led by Kyoya-kun!"

"What crappy names…" Hikaru mumbled.

Renge completely disregarded the comment and continued on with her rant, "Sakura-chan is the toughest female mob boss in Tokyo with a group of loyal followers, Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru! Kyoya is the craftiest, most decisive leader with a group of loyal followers as well, Tamaki, Honey, and Mori! These two – "

"Why does Kyoya get to be the leader?" Tamaki whined, "I wanna be in charge!"

"You can't be in charge of anything, you worthless phony."

Only Renge could hit Tamaki in a way that could make him mope in the corner for over an hour. Not even Haruhi's unintentional but harsh remarks could do that.

"If Tamaki wants to be the leader, then he can be." Kyoya laced his fingers together, "I don't mind being and underling."

Renge let out a satisfied squeal and tackled the raven-haired scholar form behind, "How noble of you to step down from power for the sake of a friend!"

Kyoya simply smiled a little. Tamaki still sat in the corner moping, completely unaware of what had just been established. Renge continued to rant on about the manga's plotline and roles were established. In the end Sakura and Tamaki ended up being the leaders of opposing gangs. Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru were Sakura's underlings and Kyoya, Honey, and Mori were Tamaki's. The meeting lasted until lunch.

After lunch, the Hosts separated and went off to do their own thing. Sakura, surprisingly, was in a much brighter mood after she ate and she was able to start work on the twin's song. She sat in the room she shared with them on the bed and jotted down ideas and random lines. Every now and again, someone would come in and see how it was coming along, but Sakura would snap the notebook shut and not allow anyone to see. The only person she let come in and look over her shoulder as she wrote was Kaoru. He had a comforting aura about him that seemed to keep Sakura relaxed and happy. When the two were in the room together, there was a lot of giggling and smiling.

"Hmm…that is our love style, a love style in the shape of…love …?" Sakura mused as she tapped the notebook with her pen, "How's that sound? Stupid…" She let out a slight laugh.

"No, that's good." Kaoru took the pen from her and wrote it down on the paper, then handed the pen back to her.

"It is your song I guess…" She said shrugging, "Now what?"

Kaoru shrugged. Sakura let out a sigh and laugh, "You do this twincest act with Hikaru almost everyday, how could you not have any ideas?"

"Uhh…I need you…" the young twin mumbled.

"I want you, forever." Sakura said and wrote it down, "Then repeat, 'that is our love style, a love style – "

"No! This is our love style." Kaoru corrected, "Umm…a love style that…"

"Goes any length." Sakura smiled and wrote, "You are mine, I am your's, forever."

Kaoru nodded in approval, "Let's take a break. This is hard."

Sakura nodded, "Okay. Just let me write this…"

At the top of the page she wrote 'Bokura no Love Style', then snapped the notebook shut.

"There." She said and tossed the notebook on the side table

The door opened only moments later and Hikaru poked his head in, "Oi, Kaoru, are you packed? We're leaving tomorrow."

"I'll take care of it later." Kaoru said in reply.

"Aren't you the one always saying not to push things to the last minute? Do it now."

"Don't worry about it. I'm busy right now anyway." He said, discreetly nodding towards Sakura.

Hikaru let out a soft sigh, but nodded, then turned to leave.

"Hikaru."

The elder twin turned back at hearing his name, "Yeah?"

"Thank-you." Kaoru replied smiling.

Hikaru simply nodded, not smiling, then turned and left. It was after he was out of Kaoru and Sakura's line of vision that Hikaru smiled. _Good luck, Kaoru._

"What'd you thank him for?" Sakura questioned.

Kaoru shook his head, "It's nothing really. He just…gave me permission to do something."

"Permission?"

Kaoru nodded and pulled his legs to his chest, "Hikaru and I…neither of us will do anything that may affect our relationship without the other's permission. We always put each other before ourselves."

Sakura smiled softly and crossed her legs, "You guys are that close?"

"We were born together, grew up together." Kaoru shrugged, "We're brothers."

The writer nodded. The sun began to set at the Hitachiin Summer House and an orange glow was cast over the bedroom. Sakura glanced over at the window and gazed at the sun. Kaoru looked as well and smiled.

"It's nice, isn't it? Our room has the best view."

"Yeah. You're lucky to be able to spend Spring Break and Summer break here."

"Don't you have a summer house?"

"Yeah, but it's not nearly as nice as this one. My family, as you know, is in the clothing design business, and we're successful, but have one rival who make more money than we do." She looked over at him, "Care to take a guess at who our number one rival is?"

Kaoru laughed a little, "Hitachiin, right?"

"Right."

And silence fell over the two. The sun was almost completely set now and the bedroom was filled with a soft orange light, making Kaoru's hazel eyes glimmer. Sakura noticed this, and smiled a little.

"So pretty…"

"Hm?" Kaoru looked her, "What did you say?"

"I…uhh….nothing." She laughed a little, "It's just…the sun is making your eyes sparkle. I said they were pretty."

Kaoru blushed and scratched his cheek a little, "Thanks."

Sakura leaned against the headboard of the bed, "Speaking of thanks, I appreciate your standing up to Kyoya earlier. He hasn't apologized yet, but still, you did what I was to upset to do. And for that, I thank you."

Kaoru nodded, "You're welcome…Kyoya-senpai was being a jerk to you. He shouldn't have called you a…you know…" He looked away from Sakura and at the window.

Sakura blinked a little, a small frown crossing her face. She let out a soft sigh and rubbed her hands together, "Well…I hit him so…I got back at him for that."

"What if he says it again?" Kaoru's eyes were still locked on the window, "What if you two get into more arguments and fights? You don't want to keep crying do you?"

"N-no, of course not. I don't like crying." Sakura sat up, "But, you know, all relationships hit bumps and – "

"Why did you start dating him anyway? What did he do that made you fall for him so quickly?"

Sakura opened her mouth a few times, trying to formulate a response. But nothing came out. There was the question Sakura should have asked herself so long ago. What exactly happened?

"He made my lyrics into a song…He kissed me…" She mumbled, "I fell…"

"Is that it all takes then?" Kaoru finally tore his gaze away from the window and stared into her eyes, "Just a kiss? It doesn't matter what happened before then. Just a kiss…."

Sakura shook her head and let out a nervous laugh, "Kaoru, where is this all coming from suddenly?"

Kaoru shook his head, "Sakura…"

What could he say? I've liked you ever since we first met? I'm always thinking about you? I was the one who held you that night? I was the one in your dream? No words could perfectly explain what he was feeling and thinking. So, perhaps, it wasn't words he needed. Closing his eyes, he contemplated what the consequences would be if he were to do…something else.

_The only option before me…_

Kaoru moved closer to Sakura and put his arms around her, just as he did when she was sleeping.

_Is to act as though she were sleeping…_

Sakura didn't move. She didn't react at first. She just allowed herself to be held. Her head was rested against his chest and she could hear his heartbeat quicken. Gently, she held onto his arms and closed her eyes.

_And hold her…_


	21. Kyoya's Apology

Hello, loyal readers. lol. In response to a certain review, I am going to create a poll. If you believe this story is all Mary-Sue, unoriginal and crappy, please say so in your review. If you think that this story, though having a couple Mary-Sue aspects, is entertaining and well-written/planned out and has an interesting plotline, please say so. I know several of you have already expressed your views on my story in the past (:cough140reviewscough:), but it never hurts to show those flamers who call themselves critics the truth of a story :smile: So, be sure to vote!

Also this was the chapter where something all you SakuXKao lovers were gonna like, but I've decided to push the event to later on. Sorry. Hope you still like it.

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23: Kyoya's Apology

"Kaoru! Kaoru! Dinner's ready! You and Sakura need to…eh?"

When the elder twin poked his head into the room where his brother and the writer were, a smile crept over his face. Sound asleep the two were on the bed, Sakura entangled in the younger twin's arms. Hikaru quietly shut the door and leaned against it, crossing one ankle over the other and looking down at the floor.

"Didn't think he'd actually…." Hikaru let out a satisfied sigh, "I'm happy."

Meanwhile, the other Hosts sat around the table in the main dining room.

"Where's Hika-chan?" Honey mumbled to his cousin, "He was supposed to bring Kao-chan and Saku-chan, right?"

"Yeah." replied Mori.

"Should we go check?"

Tamaki shook his head and, despite the fact that he wasn't being spoken to, replied, "They will be down momentarily, Honey-senpai."

"But I'm hungry." The small blonde whined and put a hand on his stomach, "They need to hurry."

"Try to be patient, Mitskuni." Mori said to his cousin.

In the room, a sleeping twin stirred and was awoken from his slumber by his growling stomach. He slowly opened his eyes and glanced around the room, letting out a yawn and sitting up off the headboard. After readjusting to his surroundings, he glanced down at Sakura and smiled slightly, then shook her slightly.

"Sakura-chan, wake up. I'm hungry."

The sleeping girl awoke and looked up at the twin, then let out a soft giggle, "What's that got to do with me?"

"You've got to come down with me."

"Why?"

"Aren't you hungry?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes again, "Not really. I could wait another hour or so before eating."

Kaoru rolled his eyes, "Alright."

He got up, lying Sakura down on the bed and covering her up before walking towards the door. Just as he was about to step out and close the door, he turned on his heel and glanced back at her. She'd fallen back into a deep slumber with her hands beneath her head. Kaoru smiled, but the smile faded as he began to remember the conversation they had prior to falling asleep.

"All he did was kiss her." Kaoru mumbled, leaning against the doorway, "And yet…"

He shook his head, dismissing the entire ordeal from his mind, and left the room, closing the door behind him. When he stepped out, he saw Hikaru standing near the door.

"Oh, Hi, Hikaru." Kaoru said smiling, "Why're you up here?"

"I came up here to get you and Sakura for dinner." Hikaru said, looking up from the floor and standing up straight, then shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Sakura's still sleeping." Kaoru nodded towards the door, "She said she'll eat in an hour."

Hikaru simply nodded and motioned for the younger twin to follow. The two made their way down the hall and to the dining room. Hikaru contemplated whether or not to talk to his brother about what happened in the room, but he decided against it. Once downstairs, the twins sat down and informed the rest of the Hosts that Sakura was asleep.

"She had a long day." Haruhi said nodding.

"She did." Tamaki laced his fingers together, "So we'll let her sleep for now. But before it gets late, we must wake her so she can pack her things. It is Friday; we're leaving tomorrow since school starts on Monday."

The meal went by quickly and quietly. No one spoke at all. What a morbid mood Kyoya and Sakura's argument brought over the house. So morbid that not even Kyoya could take it (and we're all aware of Kyoya's high tolerance for upsetting and morbid things). Halfway through dinner, Kyoya dismissed himself from the table and made his way to Sakura's room.

"Takashi." Honey whispered, "You think Kyo-chan's gonna apologize to Sakura?"

A small smile crossed Mori's face, "Maybe."

Honey beamed, letting out a soft giggle, "Good!"

* * *

She stirred as a knock came on the door, "Ughh…who is it?"

"Kyoya."

Sakura's eyes flew open and her heart jumped straight to her throat. She sat up promptly.

"Uh...come in."

The door opened and Kyoya stepped through and closed the door right back behind him. Sakura, now on her feet, put her hands behind her back and let out a breath.

"Well?"

"You've brought a dark cloud of depression over our Host Club."

Sakura arched an eyebrow, "I did?"

"You did." Kyoya adjusted his glasses a little and crossed his arms over his chest, "We have."

"I see…" she said softly.

"The argument we had made everyone upset. We can't afford unhappy Hosts. Unhappy hosts means lost customers. I certainly don't want to loose any customers, nor do I want you to be upset. I am truly sorry for the harsh things I said to you."

The last part of that sentence is what hit Sakura right in the heart. Her lips curved into a smile.

"Are you…apologizing?"

Kyoya nodded, "You are argumentative. But you're not a - "

"I get it, Kyoya-kun." Sakura said holding up her hand, "You don't need to repeat it."

Kyoya nodded and took a step back towards the door, "If you're awake now, then you should come down and eat. You have packing to do tonight and you'll need the energy to get it all done tonight so we can leave on time in the morning."

And with that said, Kyoya opened the door again and stepped out.

"Kyoya!"

Kyoya stopped moving.

"Hm?"

Sakura appeared behind him and turned him around. For a moment, she just looked at him, contemplating whether or not to do it. Then, she leaned up and pecked his lips ever so softly. Thought he didn't show it with a smile or a satisfied sigh, Kyoya was indeed quite happy after that. Hand in hand, the two went back downstairs and were greeted with smiles from the rest of the Hosts. Everyone was happy again and the mood had certainly lifted, however, an unpleasant thought circled Sakura's mind during the meal...

_There's something…wrong with Kyoya and I._

Short, kinda boring, not my best, but there it is. lol. Chapter 24 the Hosts are back at school and doing their 30's-40's Mob theme. :smile: Remember, vote on what you think of my story (options are in the authoress not at the top). Reviews are love, critique is welcome, and flamers will be sent to their fiery grave.


	22. Kidnapped

Silvia X, I love you. lol. You are the sweetest reviewer I've ever had. I really appreciate your comments. And everyone else! Everyone who leaves reviews is special to me too. Were it not for you, this story would not be at chapter 24! haha. According to the poll, this story is Mary-Sue in some aspects (specifically Sakura and her apparent perfection that I did not and still do not see) but still very good. So…yeah, take that flamers. HA.

I think some of you are gonna be grinning from ear to ear after this chapter. lol. We're stepping away from the relationship building arc and stepping into some more comical arcs. There's like…1 ½ hints of TamaXHaru in this chapter. There's also a TamaXSaku hint BUT THAT'S ONLY IN THEIR COSPLAY. lol. It's not l gonna be a love…square or anything. haha. Tamaki will not be falling for Sakura…EVER. ha. Oh…great, now I wanna write a Tamaki story. :sigh: Anyway, enjoy! BTW, this ones' long. Over 2,700 words!!

* * *

24: Kidnapped

"Kaoru!" She shrieked, "Where _is _my tea?"

The red-head pouring cups of the steaming liquid quickly looked up, locking eyes with his boss.

"It's coming, Sakura-oneesan." He said ever so timidly.

On bated breath the customers watched. Some were whimpering. It was almost to much to bear, watching Sakura be so mean. It was a whole new side to her. A side that they saw only in the manga. Impatiently, Sakura rapped her fingers on the arm of her chair.

"Kaoru…"

"Done." He said and put the tea cup down.

She bit her lip and glared at him as he approached.

_Wait…did Kyoya say he was going to drop it or not? Ughh…I don't remember now. Wasn't it something I was supposed to do to make him drop it? Why'd we have to act out the manga…and being mean to Kaoru is NOT fun._

There was yelp and crash as Kaoru tripped over his own feet and fell forward, sending the tray flying forward. Tea cups shattered, the teapot tipped over and scolding hot tea spilled on the floor. Sakura fell back into character and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Now look what you've done!"

She got to her feet and walked towards him, the brim of her trench coat trailing behind her on the floor. She tipped her black hat up a little to reveal her malice filled eyes. Kaoru looked up at the girl, fear in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sakura - !"

Sakura got down on her knees in front of him, her look of anger fading to a look of mock sympathy. She cocked her head to the side and placed her finger on Kaoru's chin.

"I moved you up in the ranks because I thought you were worthy of it," She moved her hand down to his shoulder and she gripped to him, "But now, I see you for what you really are. A worthless clone of that no good Hikaru!"

"Leave Hikaru out of this!"

Sakura's grip on the twin tightened, "You dare raise your voice at me?"

The eyes of the Host Club girls grew ten sizes. They let out whimpers and sounds of fear.

"I feel like I'm reading the manga at home!"

"This is amazing!"

"It's just like in the manga! This exact same scene! Kaoru, it's okay!"

Kaoru shut his eyes tight, bracing himself for whatever form of abuse he'd earned in raising his voice. But nothing came. Sakura merely released him and got to her feet.

"Make more tea and bring it here. Drop it again and the chances of you seeing tomorrow morning are slim to none."

Kaoru nodded and got to his feet and turned on his heel and left to make more tea. Once out of eye and earshot, Kaoru smiled and let out a laugh. Hikaru who was sitting at the far side of the room with an extra pot of tea smiled as well.

"She's really into this." Hikaru said and handed Kaoru the teapot.

"I know." Kaoru shook his head, laughing a little and put the teapot on the tray.

It was Monday afternoon at the Host Club and, obviously, Host Club actvities were taking place. As agreed upon by the hosts, they were re-enacting the super popular manga Renge had published called Fear, Dread, and Deceit: Power Struggle of the Host Companies. The entire room had been transformed to fit the theme and accommodate the customers who came. The blindingly bright pink curtains had been replaced with black, satin ones and were closed, letting absolutely no sunlight in. To make up for the lack of window light, candles were lit all over the place, creating a dark, brooding feel. With the new lighting, the pink floor resembled more of a light grayish color. The table cloths were white and in the center of each table was a glass vase with a single rose (the color of the rose varied depending on which host set that table). To simulate cigar smoke, Kyoya had invested in about 4 smoke machines and planted them in various places around the room. With the smoke lingering in the air and the old American 30's music playing in the background, and all of the hosts dressed up in trench coats and hats it looked as though everyone had stepped through a portal into the late 30's.

Sakura, instead of returning to her chair, moved over to the table where Haruhi and a few of her customers sat. Haruhi was forced to stay true to her gender that day by sporting a black bombshell dress with pink trimming and buttons. The look was completed (courtesy of the twins) with hair extensions pulled up into a bun and black sailor cap on her head. The customers gawked at how 'True to his manga character' Haruhi had stayed. In Renge's manga, Haruhi was, ironically enough, a girl. Sakura, still in character, leaned on the table and smiled softly.

"How are things going here, Haruhi?" She questioned.

"Great, Sakura-oneesan." Haruhi nodded, her sailor cap tipping forward a little, "Our customers are really enjoying themselves."

"That's good. I assume we'll be seeing you again?" Sakura looked at the girls, "Other host companies pale in comparison to mine."

"Ahh, Sakura-san, it seems a bit cruel to win customers over with fear and insults towards other companies."

Sakura smirked slightly and turned around to see a blue-eyed blonde in a white trench coat staring down at her.

"Tamaki-sama." She said softly, "It's all business. You know full well that I hold no grudge against you. It's just your company that needs to die."

Tamaki chuckled and let out a sigh, adjusted his white hat, and crossed his arms over his chest, "I would say the same about you, but the thought of your company dying makes my heart break. If your company were to die, surely you would be sad, and I would never want you to be sad."

Tamaki moved closer to Sakura who took a few steps backwards and bumped into the table. She looked behind her, letting out a sigh.

"Tamaki-sama, you need to stop this. All this talk of my happiness…"

"What?" Tamaki stood moved closer to her still, causing her to slid onto the table and knock over the vase, "Is it a crime to – "

"Don't say it!" She growled, "Don't – "

"Love?"

"Tsch." She looked away from him, "As if I could ever love someone who opposes me."

"Why must I oppose you?" Tamaki brought their faces close, "Let our companies combine. Then we can be one."

"There are other ways to become one, Tamaki-sama." Sakura said smirking and grabbing the collar of his coat, "Many other ways much more appealing and exciting. What do you say?"

Tamaki merely smirked. That's all he had to do to receive an overexcited response from the audience. The customers squealed, chanted, and urged the two to 'become one'. Sakura had to bite her tongue to keep her self from breaking into a fit of laughter.

"Kya!! Here it comes! The forbidden romance between the company bosses!!"

"Ahh, I can't watch! It's to much!"

"No, you have to! This opportunity will never come again!!"

Sakura brought her lips near Tamaki and waited for him to seal the kiss, but he remained still, his lips quivering. Sakura arched an eyebrow and blew a little on his lips, trying to get him to move, but still nothing. Lucky for them, the customers thought they were just pausing for dramatic effect.

"Tamaki-senpai, you're supposed to kiss me!"

Tamaki let out a soft sigh, "This is wrong. I can't kiss another. My lips are only meant for one person and - "

Sakura let out an annoyed sigh as he rambled _He's not seriously getting cold feet now! _Sakura decided that she would kiss him since he obviously wasn't going to do anything. However, their lips only brushed before the sound of shattering glass caused everyone to jump and break the two apart. Kaoru had fallen again. Sakura pushed Tamaki away.

"You klutz!"

Kaoru winced. The girls let out screams, scared for Kaoru's sake, as Sakura stormed over and knelt down.

"I warned you."

"S-Sakura-oneesan, please."

Sakura just grabbed the collar of Kaoru's shirt.

"I warned you. I've given you enough chances, Kaoru. You're out of chances now."

Sakura raised her free hand, readying to come down on Kaoru's face.

"Don't touch him!"

Sakura looked up. Hikaru was standing over her. Sakura sneered, "And since when have you cared for your lesser half?"

"He is not my lesser half." Hikaru said in a low tone, "He is my equal. I was stupid to shun him for being promoted more than myself. And now, I am here to redeem myself and, hopefully, gain my brother's forgiveness."

Tears in his eyes, Kaoru sat up and looked at his older twin.

"H-Hikaru…"

"Kaoru."

"Hikaru!"

The screams of fangirls can be loud and, had anything else been said, the customers could have broken the sound barrier. As the twins held tightly to each other, they mumbled to one another their usual exchanges of 'I love you' and 'I can't stand the thought of being away from you'

When activities came to an end that day, the Hosts worked together to put everything back in proper order.

"I can't believe we have to do this again next Monday." Sakura said as she pushed in a few chairs with Haruhi, "Who would've thought this theme would be so popular?"

Haruhi simply nodded and shoved a chair in a little bit harder than she intended. So hard that the table slid forward and hit Sakura in the stomach.

"Haruhi!"

Haruhi looked up and let out a sigh, "Sorry…"

"What's wrong with you?"

She shook her head, "It's nothing."

Sakura arched an eyebrow, "Haru – "

"Ah, wonderful work today!" Tamaki stripped his white trench coat and draped in on the chair Haruhi had just pushed in, "Everyone played their parts exquisitely. And Haruhi, you looked so adorable in your dress! Daddy just wanted to squeeze you in a tight hug!"

He wrapped his arms around the un-expecting Haruhi and hugged her tightly. Tamaki didn't see Haruhi's response to the gesture, but Sakura clearly saw the blush and she smiled a little. Tamaki released Haruhi a few moments after and threw his hands up.

"I can't wait until next week!"

Kyoya, who was sitting on the couch with his laptop, looked up, "You do realize that next week your character dies, right?"

Tamaki's face fell and the twins, who were pushing the second couch back into place, sniggered.

"That's right, Tono." Kaoru said.

"You die and Sakura get with your underling, Kyoya." Hikaru nodded at the bespectacled boy, "Had you stuck with the original casting and let Kyoya be the mob boss…"

"Then Kyoya would die and Sakura would end up with you instead."

The twins sniggered again as Tamaki assumed his hedgehog position in the corner.

Sakura shook her head and pushed in another chair, "You guys are so mean."

"We're only telling the truth." The twins shrugged and looked at each other.

"Sakura, did you complete the twins' song yet?" Kyoya questioned and shut the cover of his laptop, "I'd like to bring the lyrics to the studio so the band can get started on the music."

"Yeah, it's done. The notebook's in my locker. Let me go get it." She jogged to the door, "Be right back!"

Sakura shut the door behind her and jogged down the hall and quickly found her locker. Smiling, she grabbed her notebook and headed back towards the Third Music Room. She was excited about the song. Definetely her best work yet. In fact, she was so anxioius to get to her locker, that she wasn't paying as much attention to where she was going as she should have been, and so, she didn't notice the wet floor sign. Had Sakura actually hit the floor when she slipped, it could have been a very serious injury. But, someone was there to catch her.

"I-I didn't…fall?" Sakura opened one tightly closed eye.

"No, you didn't. I saved you, fair maiden." Came a smooth voice.

Sakura opened both eyes and looked up into the eyes of the one who'd caught her. Based on her height, the girl looked to be one, maybe two years ahead of Sakura. She had short brown hair and big (now glimmering) eyes. She was smiling very softly and staring down lovingly into Sakura's eyes.

"Umm…t-thank-you…" Sakura said and attempted to pull from the girl's grasp, but she held a tight grip.

"I didn't see you on my last visit here, fair maiden." the girl said softly, "What might your name be?"

"Sakura."

"Oh!" The woman closed her eyes, placing a large hand over her chest, "Such a beautiful name! Sakura. Cherry Blossoms. And your looks are most befitting for such a name. Where have you been hiding?"

"I just got here a little while ago." Sakura struggled and finally got out of the woman's grasp, "I'm a transfer student."

"I see." The woman stood behind Sakura, wrapping her arms around her waist. Sakura groaned a little.

_What is her problem?_

"Look, I have to get going now." Sakura attempted to pull away, "Thanks for helping me…umm…I don't know your name."

"You can call me Benio, fair maiden."

"Benio. Okay. And you need to stop calling me 'fair maiden'" Sakura continued to struggle, "I need to get back to the Host Club."

The moment the words 'Host Club' left Sakura's lips, Benio's eyes widened twice their normal size and her grip on Sakura tightened.

"The…Host…Club….?"

"Yes. I kind of work there, so if you could let me go…"

"Never!" Benio gripped tighter to Sakura, who was on the verge of suffocating, "I won't let you back to that repulsive club. I already failed to save one fair maiden. That poor poor maiden…but you. It's not to late for you!"

"What?"

Benio spun Sakura around to face her and held her shoulders tight, "Fair maiden, come with me. We'll have enrolled in Lobelia immediately. You'll join the Zuka Club. I won't let another innocent maiden be manipulated by a group as horrible as the Host club!"

Sakura was slightly speechless. Her mouth opened several times, but no words came out. Benio hugged her tightly.

"There is no need to speak. I know how you're feeling. You're relieved and thankful that I'm offering my hand to you. Bringing you to safety. Away from that club…"

"Look, Benio, I appreciate the offer and everything, but I need to go!" Sakura got out of Benio's grip and started down the hall back towards the host club.

"I won't let you!"

Benio grabbed Sakura so fast that the poor girl dropped her notebook.

"My stuff! Benio, let me go!"

Sakura's shouts echoed through the hall as she was dragged off by the Lobelia girl.

* * *

I can't believe I updated twice in one day. lol. Anyway, wasn't that a fun chapter? hahaha. Reviews are love, critique is welcome, and flamers will be sent to their fiery graves


	23. Recruiting

Alright, it's time for the Host Club to take action! But, they're gonna need to recruit some…help first…

* * *

25: Recruiting

The tension level in the room rose higher and higher with every second of Sakura's absence that passed. Club activities were due to start soon, and 2 hosts were missing.

"Kyoya…" The king said from the couch, "Where are they?"

"I don't know." Kyoya replied, his arms crossed over his chest.

Tamaki tensed up and he leaned onto the arm of the couch with his elbow, "This is crazy. It's as though anyone who leaves the room disappears forever."

"I highly doubt it's that serious." Kyoya adjusted his glasses.

"Then where are they?!" Tamaki looked up at his bespectacled friend.

"Maybe Saku-chan got lost." Honey was sitting at a nearby table with a fork in his hand and a slice of Devil's Food Cake on the plate in front of him, "Maybe she got lost looking for Haru-chan."

"Might I suggest someone go look for them?" Kyoya said.

"And risk another host going missing?" Tamaki laced his fingers together.

"Again, I don't think this is as serious as you're making it out to be."

"How about everyone goes and looks for them?" Honey put his fork down next to the now empty plate.

"No. Then we'd all disappear." Tamaki placed a long finger on his chin and went into deep thought.

Kyoya sighed and rolled his eyes slightly, "Tamaki, for the last time, it's not as – "

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" Tamaki snapped his fingers.

The twins stood up abruptly, "Hai!"

"Go find them. If you're gone for more than 5 minutes, call us."

"Hai!"

And the twins left the room. Once out, they shoved their hands into their pockets and started, perfectly in step, down the hall, glancing in all the classrooms they passed. The search lasted for all of 2 minutes before they turned the corner and entered another hall occupied by a single wet floor sign and a green and blue notebook on the floor.

"Hikaru, that's Sakura's notebook." Kaoru carefully stepped over and picked it up.

"Why would she leave it in the hall like this? Anyone could pick it up and read." Hikaru leaned on his brother's shoulder.

"Maybe she dropped it." Kaoru flipped through the pages, "But…she's never so careless with her things.

Hikaru pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and hit the speed dial button he'd set for Sakura. A few moments of ringing, and Sakura's voicemail picked up.

"She's not answering." Hikaru pulled the phone away from his ear and snapped it shut.

"That's odd. She always answers." Kaoru snapped the notebook shut and pulled out his phone, "Let me try."

"If she didn't answer my phone, why would she answer your's?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura was being held captive in the back of a black stretch limo by Benio.

"I told you, I don't want to go to Lobelia!" Sakura protested for the 5th time as Benio attempted to take Sakura's Ouran uniform off and switch it to a Lobelia one.

"I know you're still confused, fair maiden, but it will all be over soon. You'll be where you belong soon!" She tugged at the zipper of Sakura's dress.

"Stop it!" She smacked Benio's busy hands away, "I'm not changing."

"But – "

The side pocket of Sakura's dress vibrated suddenly.

"That's my phone." Sakura reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone. The screen flashing and the caller i.d. read 'Kaoru Hitachiin' Sakura flipped the phone, "Kaoru?"

"Ne, Ne, Sakura-chan, where are you?" Kaoru pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the speaker button so Hikaru could hear as well, "You dropped your notebook in the hall."

"I was looking for Haruhi when – BENIO, STOP UNZIPPING MY DRESS! – Ughh, I was looking for H-Haruhi when this girl, Benio, gra – Benio! – "

"Benio?!" Hikaru and Kaoru both shouted in unison.

"This Lobelia girl. She-she – Leave the zipper alone!"

"S-sakura-chan, what's going on? What is she doing?" Hikaru snatched the phone from his brother

"She's trying to get me to change into a Lobelia uniform!"

"Why?!" Kaoru took the phone back, "Where are you?"

"I'm – Benio give me my phone back!" The sound of the phone changing owners came over the speaker, "Who is this?"

The twins' stomachs lurched. Benio was speaking.

"Answer me! Who is this?"

Kaoru took a deep breath, "Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin." He didn't dare reveal the fact that they were part of the Host Club. Benio would most likely hang up if they did, "We're Sakura's friends."

"Friends? This girl just transferred. She couldn't possibly have friends unless…" Benio gritted her teeth, "You're the twins from the Host Club, aren't you?!"

The twins grimaced as she screeched 'Host Club', "Bring Sakura back!" Hikaru said loudly.

"No! I won't let you corrupt her! Everyday I mourn over the fact that I could not save Haruhi, I won't let this innocent girl meet the same end!"

Before either of the twins could respond, there was a click. Benio had hung up. Kaoru snapped the phone shut and let out a frustrated groan. Hikaru put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"We have to go tell the Host Club. We'll get her back, Kaoru."

In the limo, Sakura was fighting to get her phone back from Benio.

"Give it back!" She said and pulled on it.

"No!" Benio yanked back, causing Sakura to tumble on top of her, "You don't need them! You need me!"

"I need to get out of this car and back to the Host Club!" Sakura gave another pull at the phone and stumbled off the seat onto the floor with Benio atop her, "Give it back!"

"No!"

The two continued the argument and wrestled each other for the phone. There was, surprisingly, a lot of space on the floor of the limo, so the two managed to roll over each other a few times before Sakura managed to relinquish the phone from Benio's grip. She climbed up onto the seat and flipped the phone open, then scrolled through the numbers and hit 'Kaoru'.

* * *

"LOBELIA?!"

"Benio kidnapped her and now she's bringing her to Lobelia academy!"

Tamaki stood up, "We have to save her!"

"Waaaaaaa! Sakura-chan's gonna transfer!" Honey whined.

"No! Don't think to such lengths, senpai!" Tamaki stood up and put his hands on his hips, "Host Club activities for today are cancelled! We'll take a car to Lobelia and bring Sakura – "

_Mata ashita! Hohoenda kimini aeru you ni  
__Sumikitta aozora ukabu kumo no yo ni_

The group fell silent as the familiar song emitted from Kaoru's pocket. He shuffled around in his pocket and pulled out his phone, "Sorry…"

Tamaki looked over at Kyoya, "Host Club…ringtones?"

"Yes." Kyoya adjusted his glasses, "Just another means of promotion. They're available on the Host Club website. Didn't I tell you?"

"No, Kyoya…" Tamaki frowned, "You didn't tell me. I want one…"

Kaoru looked at the screen and saw Sakura's name flashing. He flipped the phone open and hit speaker, "Sakura?"

"Help me!" Sakura's voice came over the speaker.

The rest of the Host's attention was drawn to Kaoru's phone and they huddled around him.

"Saku-chan, are you okay?" Honey said into the phone.

"H-Honey-senpai?"

"Sakura!" Tamaki snatched the phone from Kaoru, "They haven't hurt you have they?! My precious daughter has been kidnapped! Daddy's coming!"

"Tono…really…" Sakura mumbled.

"Ah, give it back!" Kaoru took the phone from Tamaki, "We're coming after you now, Sakura. Just…just stay wherever you are."

"I'm still in the limo and - Ahh! Benio stop! Give it back!"

"No! I won't let them take you!"

"Benio!!"

Kyoya took the phone from Kaoru and turned the speaker off, then put the phone to his ear, "Benibara-sama?"

Benio managed to get the phone from Sakura and she put it to her ear, "That voice sounds so painfully familiar."

"Ootori Kyoya." He said.

"Ahh…" Benio smirked, "Ootori-kun, ne?"

"I wasn't aware that the cultural festival was coming 3 months early this year." Kyoya put a hand on his hip, "Or is there some other reason behind your appearance at Ouran?"

"My original plan was to try and take back that innocent Haruhi, but my attention was captured by my darling Sakura here. I'm saving her from that retched club of yours before you inflict anymore damage on her."

"I see. This is quite a serious matter, isn't it?"

"It seems we understand each other." Benio sat back in her seat, holding her hand out as to keep Sakura back, "So you understand why I can't return Sakura to you."

"I understand perfectly. However, we can not simply oblige and let you take her away from us." Kyoya sauntered over to the couch as he spoke and sat down, "Surely we can negotiate the matter. Come up with some sort of proposal?"

"The only proposal, Ootori-kun, that I would be willing to accept is your handing over Haruhi-kun and terminating the Host Club once and for all."

"I see. Well, if it's impossible for us to negotiate this, then the only option available is force." Kyoya said this in a low tone.

Benio chuckled, "You can try. But I think you'll find your efforts fruitless."

"Don't underestimate us…Benio."

And with nothing more to say, Kyoya pulled the phone away from his ear and snapped it shut. He held the phone out to Kaoru who took it back and slid it into his pocket.

"Kyoya…" Tamaki's voice trailed.

"They're expecting us." He stood up from the couch and crossed his arms over his chest, "Which means they likely have a plan to stop us if we attempt to get in."

"How are we gonna get in then?" Honey questioned and gripped Usa-chan, "We're gonna need help if we're going against Lobelia, right Takashi?"

Mori nodded, "Yeah."

"Fufufufufufufufufufufufuuuuuu, help? Help you say?"

A sudden cloud of gloom seem to spread over the hosts when the voice came. The lights even dimmed…

"Who turned off the lights?" Hikaru mumbled to his brother who simply shrugged in response.

Against the right wall, a large black door was cracked open and cloaked figure poked his head out.

"N-N-N-Nekozawa-senpai…?" Came Tamaki's shaky voice.

"Fufufufufufu…your protégé has been kidnapped, has she?" He said in a low, spine-tingling voice, "If it's help and revenge you seek, I am the one you'll need."

"How does he always know what's going on in here?" Kaoru questioned, "Is he stalking us?"

"Belzenef and I always know what goes on." Nekozawa replied, revealing a yellow cat puppet, "Always…"

"How would you be able to assist us, Nekozawa-senpai?" Kyoya questioned.

Tamaki, who was hiding behind Kyoya at the moment, poked his head around Kyoya's shoulder and hissed, "Don't ask for his help!"

Nekozawa grinned, "Fufufufufu…I have my ways, Ootori-kun. That is all you need know."

Kyoya smiled and nodded, "Then I leave distracting the Lobelia girls while we get Sakura in your capable hands."

"Yes…I'll distract them…"

Tamaki sunk to the floor and the twins sniggered. Kyoya turned back to the group.

"Now all we need is a way to actually get into the school."

Haruhi, who had been quietly sitting on the couch up until now, stood up, "I think I know how to go about doing that."

"How?"

Haruhi just smiled, "Remember my father?"

The Hosts just stared at her for a minute, then realization dawned on them and they all smiled, even Tamaki got over his state of depression and fear to smile proudly.

Kyoya nodded in approval, "Very well then. Tachibana, Hotta, Aijima, we'll need you as well."

The black suited men in sunglasses appeared from behind the curtain and nodded wordlessly.

"Are we gonna go get Saku-chan now, Takashi?" Honey questioned, looking up at his cousin.

Mori smiled a little and nodded, "Yes. We are."

* * *

With Nekozawa, Ranka, Tachibana, Hotta, and Aijima at their side, will the Host Club be able to save Sakura? haha. Yes, this arc is fun to write. Reviews are love. :smile:


	24. Infiltrate Lobelia

* * *

Sorry for taking so long to update. Busy...don't feel like typing it out. Just trust me, I did not forget about this or anything. lol.

* * *

26: Infiltrate Lobelia

There was a silence over the group as they stood outside the pearly gates of Lobelia Academy. They had a mission. Rescue their missing hostess, and get out of there in one piece. And this was no small task considering they would have to infiltrate a place they already weren't welcome at. Tamaki nodded and turned around to face the team.

"Should we review the plan one last time?" He said in a very hushed whisper, so as to not be heard by any 'Lobelians'

"What?" Hikaru said, leaning closer to in to the king.

There were a few sniggers. A bit to quiet. Well...at least none of the Lobelians heard.

"I said" He raised his voice a little, "Should we review the pl-"

"Tamaki, hush." Kyoya put his hand in front of Tamaki's face, "Try not to be a complete idiot during this. Our mission is quite serious."

"Aww." Honey's soft voice said, "You're worried about her, aren't you Kyo-chan?"

Kyoya adjusted his glasses a bit, "Profits increased with her songs. Of course I'm worried. We need her back."

Hikaru rolled his eyes and leaned over to whisper in his brother's "Translation: He's more concerned about the money than the girl. How shallow can you get?"

"I heard that." Kyoya snapped.

"It's true!"

"Guys, hush!" Haruhi said, "Someone's coming!"

The Hosts quickly stepped aside and hid behind the wall as a group of Lobelia students crossed the campus, laughing about something with books in thier hands.

"Strange." Kyoya mumbled, glancing down at his watch, "There shouldn't be anyone out here at this time."

"How do you figure that?" Tamaki questioned.

"Well, according to my research, this is the time where everyone is inside watching the Zuka club's latest show, making this the optimal time to get into Lobelia, find Sakura, and get out unnoticed."

Haruhi looked at Kyoya, a look of disbelief on his face, "And you got this information from...?"

"Tachibana, Hotta, and Aijima acquired the information while we were driving to the school." He said, revealing a sheet of paper with writing on it, "Along with various notes on entrances to the schools and what rooms Sakura might be in."

"But how--"

"How did they get this information?" Kyoya said and folded up the paper, "I have certain connections."

A large, dark shadow could have appeared over Kyoya at that moment. He said it in such a dark sinister tone that most of the hosts (excluding Mori who was staring into one of the upper floor windows of the school building) crowded together. Haruhi let out a sigh and pulled out of Tamaki's tight grasp.

"If you have these connections, why didn't you just use them to get Sakura out instead of dragging us all along and turning this into a big covert operation?" She questioned and peered into the gate to see if the girls had gone.

"Isn't this more exciting?" The Shadow King questioned.

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "They're gone."

"Good!" Came an unusually loud voice.

All the hosts jumped and whipped around to see a tall, red head in a pair of burgandy sunglasses and matching burgandy scarf around thier neck. The person was wearing a knee length pink skirt and white long-sleeved top with pink flowers on it.

"Now we get ready to go in." The person pulled thier sunglasses down, revealing a pair of hazel eyes.

Haruhi jumped to her feet, "Dad, what are you doing here? How did you even _know _we were here? We went to the house and you weren't there."

"I got a call from Kyoya-kun a short while ago." Ranka winked down at Kyoya, who merely smiled and nodded, "He told me the situation and I came to help."

The pleasent expression on Ranka's face turn to something that resembled rage and he stared daggers down at Tamaki who began to tremble.

"Tamaki-kun, I entrust you with my daughter and precious niece, and what do I hear in return?" He stomped over and hoved one heeled foot over Tamaki's stomach, "Sakura-chan has been kidnapped and now we're leading an operation to get her back? I should squash you like the bug you are!"

"Oh, please, otasan!" Tamaki pleaded (and quite loudly), "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I wasn't aware that - "

"Here comes Ranka-san's foot!"

Were it not for Haruhi, Tamaki would have been crushed into the concrete, but as it was, Haruhi held her father back and Tamaki was saved. With Ranka now at thier side, their plan of action was altered slightly, but not by much.

"The Zuka club performace will end in 15 minutes." Ranka looked at the watch on his hand, "And I think I know exactly where they would put Sakura."

"Where?" The hosts chimed in unison.

"Somplace not so obvious like the club room or the backstage of the theatre. Most likely..." Ranka's eyes narrowed on a door off to the side of building, "She's in the abandoned music room."

The hosts all nodded, staring intently at Ranka.

"How do you know about this, Ranka-sama?" the twins questioned.

"Back when Haruhi-kun's mother and I were married, she told me of a music room that was once used by the Zuka club band to rehearse. But it was so close to the classrooms that students were bothered when they rehearsed, so they locked off the room and moved the band to another room. The music room remained empty. I suspect that they put her in there."

"Kyoya." Tamaki pointed at his friend, "Alert Nekozawa-senpai and tell him of Sakura possible location so he can work on distracting the Zuka club."

"Hai." Kyoya flipped open his cellphone.

"Ranka-san." Tamaki looked at him, "How are we to get in? Where is this room?"

Ranka pointed to the door he'd been staring at, "If we go through that door, there's a staircase that leads up to the 4th floor. At the end of the hall is the abandoned music room, but it's a bit risky going down there. It's next to all of the classrooms and there may be some people in there to see us. Not to mention the fact that we only have 10 minutes now to get in."

* * *

Ranka was correct in where Sakura was. She was in the abandoned music room, tied to a chair that sat against the window. She'd been stripped and forced into a Lobelia uniform, then confined to the room for, now, 30 minutes while Benio and the rest of Zuka club was in the theatre building. Sakura let out a moan and looked around the room that, oddly enough, reminded her of the host club. If someone were to go in and paint everything in the Third Music Room over in lavender, they would have the Lobelia music room.

"If I could just reach this knot..." Sakura mumbled and tried reaching the knot around her waist, "Damn it...I hope the Host Club is coming. I'm going to smack Kyoya for making me go get my notebook."

"Even if the hosts are coming, fair maden, they're not match for the rest of the students."

The door slammed open and Benio walked, followed by two honey blonde-haired girls in elaborate knee length dresses. (Benio was wearing a blue suit). Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Benio, she's beautiful." The girl with longer hair said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes, Benibara-sama, gorgeous." The short one with shoulder length hair said, "Where did you say you found her again?"

"She was on her way back to that awful Host Club." Benio sneered, "But I managed to save her before she got there."

"You didn't save me, you kidnapped me!" Sakura snapped, "I want out of here now! I don't want to be a Lobelia student."

Sakura was completely ignored by the three. With a snap of her fingers, Benio got both of her friends' attention.

"Chizuru. Hanako."

"Hai!" They said in unison.

"Help Sakura-chan out of her chair and get her into wardrobe and make-up so we can rehearse for our next show."

"Hai!"

But before either of the two could step forward, the lights switched off, plunging the three into darkness.

"W-what's going on?" Benio said, "Chizuru, the lights!"

"They're not working, Benibara-sama!"

_Fufufufufufufufufu..._

* * *

Fin. Reviews are love, critique is welcome, and flamers will be sent to thier fiery graves.


	25. Infiltrate Lobelia Part 2

MY FACE HURTSSSSS. :cry: I got a really really bad sunburn and hurts like a...GAHHH...ughh. This ointment that's supposed to help is burning like hell right now. So much pain...and yet...I managed to live through and write this chapter.

* * *

_Fufufufufufufufufu..._

Benio whipped around, adjusting her eyes to see in the darkness with the little light that shone in through the window.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!"

_Fufufufufufufufu..._

"Zuka...Zuka...Zuka..." The deep, demonic voice said.

Chizuru and Hinako gripped to each other, shaking violently, "W-what's g-going o-on?!"

"Zuka...Zuka...Zuka...release her..."

Benio eyes narrowed on a shadow that was being cast on the wall opposite them. A tall, cloaked figure. She whipped around looking for the one casting the shadow, but found no one. She clenched her fists together.

"Release her..." She mumbled, "Whoever this voice belongs to...they're after Sakura! It must be the Host Club!"

Chizuru and Hinako gasped dramatically, making Sakura, who was still bound and tied to the chair, giggle slightly.

"Hinako!" Benio shrieked, "Go find the breaker box and turn the lights back on so we can find those Hosts and get them out! Chizuru, recruit the rest of the Zuka club members. We'll need fire power..."

Meanwhile, the Hosts were making thier way up the stairs to the abandoned music room. Benio's scream floated downstairs and the lights shut off, causing Honey to tense up.

"I'm scared!" He said, gripping Usa-chan, "Who's screaming?!"

"Calm down, Mitskuni." Mori said softly.

"Nekozawa must be distracting them." Kyoya said, straightening his blue jacket, "Assuming all goes well, they'll rush out to find the breaker box and recruit the Zuka Club members. In order to do that, one of the three must come down these very stairs."

Kyoya looked over at the twins who were grinning rather mischeviously, "Hikaru. Kaoru."

"And that's when we'll catch her." Hikaru (out of only God knows where) revealed a rope.

"One will be down and two will be left." Kaoru said, taking one end of the rope and twirling it around.

Haruhi arched an eyebrow, "Where'd the rope come from...? And Kyoya, how did you --"

"Haruhi, I think it would be best if you stop asking questions." Kyoya said, adjusting his glasses, "And just trust us."

Haruhi sighed and nodded, "Fine..."

"Gotta find it, Gotta find it...Ugh...where is it?!"

A young voice reached the Hosts' ears and footsteps could be heard. Hikaru grinned, "Here we go."

Hinako took the stairs two at a time, "I think it's on the 2nd floor...man, I can barely see anything!"

The Hosts plastered themselves against the wall and waited silently for Hinako to come within reach. The poor, un-suspecting Zuka Club member, when she reached the stairwell the twins stood on, was tackled and tied, then slung over Mori's shoulder kicking and screaming.

"LET ME GO! BENIO! BENIO!!"

"Karou, silence her please." Kyoya said.

"Hai!"

Kaoru pulled, what looked like a hankerchief, from his front pocket and wrapped it around Hinako's mouth, tieing it tightly. All that could be heard now from the girl was muffled screams.

"Mori-senpai, bring her back outside and plant her by the limo where Hotta is. He'll make sure she's unseen and unheard." Kyoya started leading the group up the stairs, "Then you and Honey-senpai ready yourself with the reinforcements"

"Alright."

"Okay, Kyo-chan!"

And the cousins dissappeared down the stairs. Haruhi tapped Kyoya on the back.

"Hm?" He said and glanced back at her, "What is it?"

"Reinforcements?"

"Haruhi." He said in a low tone, "I just said to not ask questions."

* * *

Benio was still looking around the room for the source of the shadow.

"Where is Hinako with the lights?" She said aloud.

Sakura let out a sigh and wiggled in her seat, "These ropes are so tight." She mumbled.

Benio turned to face Sakura, then walked over slowly and knelt at her feet, taking Sakura's hand into her's.

"I apologize for your discomfort, fair maiden, but it's all for your protection. I won't let the Host Club take you away."

Sakura groaned and wiggled again, trying to loosen the ropes, "I want the Host Club to take me away, you wierdo."

Benio gripped tighter to Sakura's hand, making Sakura bite her lip and shut her eyes tightly.

_Damn, this girl's got one hell of a grip..._

Before Benio could say another word, the door slammed open and Chizuru walked through.

"Did you get them?"

"Yes." She said, "And they've positioned themselves at nearly every entrance on campus, "Those Hosts won't get in. And if, by some chance, they already _are _inside, there are girls patrolling the hall, there's no way they'll get to Sakura."

"Good. Go make sure the door to the stairway is locked." Benio commanded, "And any other entrances to this floor. Just to be sure."

"Yes, Benio."

* * *

The Hosts opened the door to the third floor where the abandoned music room was supposed to be. Ranka peered down the hall and, at seeing Chizuru slowly approaching, turned to the Hosts.

"It's just like you predicted, Kyoya-kun. One of them is coming to lock this door."

"Of course." Kyoya stepped in front of Ranka, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at his watch, "And if the timing is correct, 2 members of the Black Magic Club should appear right..."

"AHHHHH!! LET ME GO!!"

The twins sniggered. Kyoya smirked, "Now."

Chizuru was dragged off in the opposite direction by two people in black cloaks.

"Phase 1: Capture The Zuka Club President's Subordinates." Kyoya stepped aside as the rest of the Hosts came through the door, "Complete. Now beginning Phase 2: Fending Off Zuka Club Forces. Tamaki, you know what to do."

Tamaki pulled a silver cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, then hit a couple buttons and put it to his ear.

* * *

In front of the school, Mori and Honey stood on either side of a girl with shoulder length brown hair.

_Mata ashita! Hohoenda kimini aeru you ni..._

The girl grabbed her phone from the front pocket of her dress and flipped it open, then slowly put it to her ear.

"Are we ready, Tamaki-kun?"

_Yes, according to Kyoya, we're ready._

"Alright. Good-bye."

The girl smiled and hung up her phone.

"So, are we ready?" Honey looked up at the girl.

Kanako Kasugazaki nodded, "Alright, ladies!" She shouted and lifted her arms, drawing the attention of the multitude of girls in yellow dresses around her, "Go!"

* * *

Tamaki shut the phone, "It's all set."

"Then we should hear the infiltration announcement in a matter of moments."

_Attention! Attention! Attention all Zuka Club members standing guard! We have an infiltration from the neighboring Ouran High School! A mass multitude of the students are making there way onto the grounds and into the building to find Benibara-samma. You must, at all costs, stop them!_

"God, this place works like clock work." Hikaru shook his head.

"It's almost not any fun knowing exactly what's going to happen next." Kaoru said, leaning on his brother's shoulder.

"Don't worry about excitement, Hikaru." Kyoya said, "There's one part of this that is not predictable. And that's the confrontation with Benio. With that said, we move to the final stage of our plan. Phase 3: Confront Benio and Rescue Our Missing Hostess."

The Hosts nodded and, in perfect step, made thier way down the long hall towards the abandoned music room. Kaoru and Kyoya let out a sigh in unison. They realized that they shared the same tension. The same worry and concern. They reached the room and Kaoru stepped forward and put his hand on the door knob. With a deep breath, He pushed the door open. Sakura, who (unfortunately) was still tied to the chair, looked up and saw them. Her stomach lurched and smile spread over her face.

"It's about time."

Fin. Reviews are love, Critique is welcome, and flamers will be sent to thier fiery grave.


	26. In the Wrong

Alright. It's time for Kyoya and co. to rescue Sakura from Benio. BTW, if you remember from the last chapter, Honey and Mori are downstairs with the army of Host Club girls, so they're not part of the confrontation. Just thought I'd clarify.

* * *

She was fine. Perfectly okay. And to be quite honest, she looked downright amazing in the Lobelia uniform. She breathed out a sigh and struggled a little.

"What did you guys do to get in here?" She questioned.

The twins looked at each other, then at the bound hostess, "A lot."

"Oh that explains so much." Sakura rolled her eyes.

Tamaki looked around the room before stepping forward, "Where's Benio?"

"She left like…10 seconds ago to find Hinako." Sakura struggled more, "Can you get me out of here, please?"

In unison, Kaoru and Kyoya stepped towards the chair. When they realized their synchronized movement, they stopped and glanced at each other. The older students piercing eyes made the younger fall back and stand by his brother. Hikaru sighed and patted his brother's shoulder.

"A'least she's safe, right?" He said.

Kaoru nodded, "Yeah…"

Kyoya made his way over to the chair and knelt down in front of Sakura, first untying the ropes around her wrists. Sakura watched as the rope's fell on her lap. Flexing her wrists, she watched Kyoya stand up and go behind the chair, untying the 4 knots in the back.

"Did you unleash the Ootori family private police on this place?" Sakura questioned, laughing softly, "I heard the alarm."

Kyoya smirked slightly, "Not quite."

"Then what?

"Let's call it your fan base." He stood up and shoved one hand into his pocket.

Sakura stood up as well. The ropes fell to her feet and she kicked them aside, "Fan base?"

"In the short amount of time you've been in the Host Club, you've gained quite a gathering." Hikaru said, leaning on his brother's shoulder, "A lot of people like you."

"They came in to help. Also all the girls who have heard the songs you wrote" Haruhi continued, "Which means, basically, the entire customer base of the Ouran Host Club."

Sakura looked at Kyoya, "Really?" If anyone could confirm this, it would be him. The brains behind the operation.

Kyoya nodded, "Really."

Sakura nodded, "Cool."

"Let's get out of here." Kaoru nodded towards the door, "Before Benio and co. comes back."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. Haruhi was the first out the door, followed by Tamaki, then Hikaru. Kaoru hung behind a little and waited for Kyoya and Sakura to walk out so he could shut the door. As they stepped out, Kaoru noticed Kyoya leaning down towards Sakura's cheek. He pecked her softly, making her glance up at him and smile. She then took his arm, and put it around her waist. Kaoru shook his head and sighed, stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

_I hoped he wasn't just after the money and business she brought in. Apparently, he cares. But if that's true, then why does he hide it with stupid excuses? When you care for someone, you shouldn't be afraid to show it. You shouldn't get in to huge arguments about why you're so unaffectionate. If I were in his place…_

"I suppose I shouldn't have taken you all so lightly."

Kaoru was snapped from his thoughts by the painfully familiar voice. For a moment, his eyes locked with Benio's, but it was a moment later that she snapped her gaze to Kyoya, who's placid expression changed not a bit.

"You call sending an army of Zuka Club fans, locking the doors, and setting off a warning alarm 'taking us lightly'?" Hikaru said, arching an eyebrow in disbelief, "You're kidding, right?"

"Hikaru, we sent an army of Host Club customers at them and kidnapped her friends." Haruhi whispered into Hikaru's ear, "We didn't exactly take them lightly either."

"That's besides the point." Hikaru murmured back.

"I should have prepared more." Benio crossed her arms over her chest, "You overtook is way to easily. But no matter. You won't get any farther. Leave Sakura and go back to Ouran and no one will get hurt."

"Did you just threaten us?" Haruhi said, offended.

"I did." Benio's expression softened as her eyes landed on Haruhi, "I'm sorry. I'll return for you some other time. For now…I can only focus on one girl at a time."

Sakura rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. Kyoya, with his free hand, adjusted his glasses.

"It's six against one, Benio." Kyoya said.

"Actually, six against three."

Hinako and Chizuru stepped out from behind Benio and assumed cross-armed positions like Benio.

"We still out number you." Hikaru pointed out, "Even with your lackeys."

"That doesn't matter." Benio snapped, "We'll still take the girl back!"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, "You know, 'the girl' has a name. It's Sakura and she DOES NOT want to give up working every day with 6 handsome men and one amazing girl to join some whacked out all girls school. Why don't you get that?"

Chizuru stepped forward, "Lobelia is the pinnacle of all female academies! Girls who graduate from here move on in life as successful, beautiful women who aren't defined by anything. Especially not _men!_"

She said that last word with such venom that even Kyoya's insides churned for a second.

"Exactly!" Hinako took a step forward, "Why should girls go anywhere else? This is an academy made by girls, for girls! It shapes and molds you into the things you should be. You learn independence, strength and superiority over anything that may stand in the path of the female."

"Ouran, however, does not teach those same values." Benio glared directly at Kyoya, as if it were his fault Ouran didn't have the same principles as Lobelia, "By allowing a club such as yours to exist, it belittles us. In the eyes of the Host Club, we are just toys. Toying with the emotions and delicate heart of the female is wrong. Why should we stand back and allow an innocent girl fall into such a club?"

There was a silence. A long, tense silence. Sakura breathed out a sigh, unable to form any words. The Lobelia girls, as much as Sakura hated to admit, sort of had a point. The Host Club does, in fact, lead girls on. They are playing with a girl's emotions. When you think of it like that…

"That's not what the Host Club is about."

Sakura turned her attention to the blonde who'd spoken. A serious expression on his face and a hand in his pocket, Tamaki let out a sigh.

"Our Host Club is not about playing with girls or belittling them. We have the utmost respect for them. The point of the Ouran Host Club is to make people happy. True, most of our customers are girls, but that is only because we are handsome gentlemen. We think of fun and creative ways to entertain girls. Our ideas span from things as simple as tea parties to things as complicated as recording songs." Tamaki tossed a smile in Sakura's direction.

"Then explain all of the preposterous things you say." Benio snapped, "All those silly words of flattery and love. You don't mean any of them!"

"We mean what we say." Tamaki said, his smile now directed at Benio, "If we didn't, then we would be lying, and that would be disrespectful."

"What about your proclamations of love?" Chizuru queried.

"Also true. We love each of our customers." Tamaki said simply.

Benio clenched her teeth and, for a moment, her entire body shook with anger, "You can't spread your love so easily! Your club is ridiculous! You spend time doing things that you think make girls happy, but in reality you –"

"If our club is so wrong, then that means your club must be wrong too."

Benio, Chizuru, and Hinako all turned their attention to the the red head who spoke. Kaoru put a hand on his hip.

"What do you do in the Zuka Club? You have tea parties and stuff too. You put on shows. You're making girls happy just like we are. So if we're wrong, then, you are too. In all fairness, we have the right to come and kidnap every girl in the Zuka Club and bring them to Ouran to save them from you three."

The three looked as though they'd just been smacked across the face. Their expressions of utter shock were so amusing that Hikaru and Sakura, both being ones to laugh easily, had to bite their tongues to stay quiet. Benio's mouth opened a few times, but no words came out.

"If we're done talking," Kyoya said, smirking slightly, "We will be leaving now."

And the group turned and started towards the doorway.

"W-wait!'

Footsteps began to approach them from behind. But the Hosts didn't stop.

"Shouldn't we make them stop chasing us?" Sakura glanced back at the girls who weren't very far from them.

Kyoya glanced at his watch, "5,4,3,2,…."

"AHHH!"

The Hosts turned to see the Lobelia girls trapped under a black net. The net was being pinned to the floor by two Black Magic Club members, one of the two was Nekozawa.

"Thank-you, Nekozawa-senpai." Kyoya nodded at him.

"You're welcome, Ootori-kun."

And the group started walking towards the doorway again. Haruhi looked back at Nekozawa and the Lobelia girls.

"Kyoya-senpai, did you plan that?"

"Haruhi, what did I tell you earlier?"

Haruhi sighed, "Don't ask questions…"

* * *

And so ends the Lobelia drama. Benio, Chizuru, and Hinako were released from Nekozawa's grasp sometime after the Host Club returned to Ouran. Kanako called off the host club customers and they all returned to the school, leaving only a few Lobelia students injured severely enough to need medical care. The rest had a few cuts and bruises and a little bit of lost hair…damn those host club customers can be violent…


	27. The Contest

It took me a while to update this because I've been helping my sister move and…well…when I came back to update, I'd TOTALLY forgotten what I was gonna do. lmao. Do as in what I was gonna write next in the chapter. But it's all good bxtches, Ashley's back and updating.

* * *

**Guilty Beauty Love**

_The crime is that God created me beautifully  
I'm wrong to be reflected in your eyes  
The punishment is that I'm overfilled with love  
Nevertheless, I'll still love you, right?  
GUILTY BEAUTY LOVE_

_Open the door, take a step forward, and welcome to the world of your dreams  
I'll escort you, kneel, and kiss your hand  
Even a shy goddess looked back at the LUCKY GUY  
Because I'll heal your tired heart_

_The crime is that everything I touch falls in love  
It's completely not your fault for having your HEART stolen  
The punishment is that I infinitely offer up love  
Nevertheless, you'll still touch me, right?  
GUILTY BEAUTY LOVE_

_The moon appearing at night is me, and you, who embraces and burns, are the sun  
We meet and it's so blindingly bright that shadows can't form  
When I deliver a bouquet of passion, Cutie Lady  
Here, you're always a Heroine_

_The crime is that God gave me these lips  
I'm wrong to have invited you into a dream  
The punishment is that I'm overloaded with love  
Nevertheless, you're still charmed by me, right?  
GUILTY BEAUTY HEART_

29: The Contest

"You ready, Tamaki-senpai?

"Yes, I am.

"Alright, starting the music then."

Sakura tapped a few buttons and the music for Tamaki's song, Guilty Beauty Love, started up. It was Tuesday afternoon (4:37 to be exact) and, due to Sakura kidnapping, the group was a little behind on recording. The very afternoon Sakura was kidnapped by the Lobelia Girls (which was the day before, Monday), they were due to record Guilty Beauty Love and Bokura No Love Style, the twins' song, was supposed to be done Tuesday. But, things happen and the Host Club is stuck recording two songs in one day, a task easier said than done. Especially when the twins were no where to be found.

Sakura leaned back in her seat and watch Tamaki record. Kyoya, who'd left the room momentarily to get some tea for himself and the others, passed the cups around and sat down, handing the last to Sakura. She smiled and thanked him, then took a sip.

"Any word from the twins yet?" She questioned as she took a sip.

"No." Kyoya looked at his phone for any missed calls or messages, "They were supposed—"

"To be here over an hour ago, I know, Kyoya-kun."

Kyoya sighed a little and placed his glass down, "We can't afford to be anymore behind schedule. If they don't get here, we just won't record their song."

"No!" Sakura looked at him, nearly slamming her cup down, "No, we will record it! I'm not going to let you cancel it, I worked way to hard on that song for you to just put it aside."

Kyoya just looked at her for a moment, his eyes sparkling with amusement. He let out a cross between a sigh and laugh and adjusted his glasses, "Alright then. We'll wait for them."

Sakura blinked, confused, "Really? You're okay with that?"

"You're right. You worked hard on it. We produced the music and everything, it can't all go to waste."

"Oh…." Sakura cleared her throat, "Ahh..well…okay…?"

Kyoya just smirked and shook his head, making Sakura smile a little and roll her eyes. She turned her attention back to Tamaki who was almost to the halfway point of the song. She took another long sip of her tea and waited until he hit the point, then hit the "Stop" button to stop the music.

"You can take a break, senpai."

"Alright!"

Tamaki was beaming was he came out of the sound room and into the main room with everyone else.

"Well?" He said, mainly to Haruhi, "How was I? Did I sound okay?"

"You sounded amazing, I think, senpai." Haruhi smiled, "I remember you singing from Mata Ashita, but alone in your own song, I could really hear your voice better and it was good."

Tamaki's cheeks tinged pink and his eyes went straight to the floor, "Thank-you, Haruhi…"

Sakura arched an eyebrow, "Wow, an actual, sincere compliment from Haruhi? Not something you see to often outside of the Host Club."

Everyone nearly jumped out of their seats when the door slammed open. Sakura's cup hit the floor (thankfully it was empty and the cup itself was plastic) and she stood up to see the ones who'd just barged in.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! You're late!" She snapped, her hands on her hips.

"Sorry." They said in unison, "We were setting something up for you."

Sakura cocked her head to the side and crossed her arms over her chest, "Excuse me?"

The twins smiled at each other and Hikaru revealed a piece of pink paper from behind his back.

"Ta-da! We've entered you in the Ouran High School Annual Literature Event!" They announced proudly.

Sakura's jaw dropped and she snatched the paper from Hikaru who placed his now free hand on his hip. Quickly, her eyes skimmed the paper.

"W-why? Why did you sign me up without asking?"

"If we did, we knew you'd say no." Hikaru answered.

"So we took the liberty of entering for you." Kaoru continued.

"What is the Literature Event?" Haruhi mused and took the paper from Sakura.

"Every year, the school holds a contest the writers in school. It brings out the best of the best, and you only stand a chance at winning if your writing is phenomenal. At the level of published writers." Kyoya said, stealing the paper from Haruhi, glancing it over, then handing it over to Tamaki who was reaching out for it, "The winner gets a special prize, but it changes every year, and the prize isn't disclosed until the winner is actually announced. It could be anything from having your own book published to a trip across the country."

Sakura stumbled back into what she thought was her seat, but actually turned out to be Kyoya's lap. Knowing how shocked she was and what comfort she might need to feel better, Kyoya wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I—I can't do this contest." Sakura said, leaning her head on Kyoya's shoulder, "I just…I'm not _that _good. I don't stand a chance."

"You'll be fine." Kaoru reassured her, "Your lyrics are amazing. You enter any of those songs you wrote for us and have a very good chance at winning."

"But I don't need a _very good _chance at winning! I need a guaranteed chance at winning. I have to write like I've never written before! I don't even know what to write. A story? A lot of songs? A poem?" She was tensing up all over her body, "What have you two done?"

Kyoya rubbed her back reassuringly, but it didn't do much for her. She was still tense as ever. It wasn't until the younger of the red-headed twins knelt down in front of Sakura and took her hand.

"Just write. Whatever comes to you. Just let it come and don't stop until it's finished. Don't change anything about after you've written it. Just write, edit, and enter. I promise, you'll do great. If you don't win, I'm certain you'll take second."

Sakura's frowned turned into something like a half smile and she nodded, "Alright…I'll try."

Kaoru smiled softly and nodded, "Good."

Right before him, Kyoya saw it. That spark. The connection between the two. The connection that first reared it's head on Spring Break in the pool. The connection that came again after his and Sakura's argument. That little spark of attraction that kept showing itself at the worst times possible. It was growing. Especially since Kaoru's speech at Lobelia, the spark had been growing. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing, Kyoya could do to stop it. He looked away from the pair, trying not to let the twang of jealousy get to him. But it grew bigger the longer the two looked at each other. It was only for a few moments, but it seemed like an eternity to Kyoya. He cleared his throat, making Kaoru let go of Sakura and stand up.

"If you're here, then we can continue." He gently pushed Sakura from his lap, "Tamaki, let's finish your song so we can get the twins in. We have a deadline to make. Guilty Beauty Love is supposed to be released tomorrow, so it needs to be finished."

"Uhh…Okay." Tamaki said, handing the flyer to Mori who looked at it with Honey.

Honey looked away from the flyer for a moment and at Kaoru, who sank into a chair at the opposite side of the room. Kyoya sat back down in his seat and Sakura found her way to her own. Tamaki went into the sound room and put on the headphones, then signaled he was ready. Sakura started the music again from where Tamaki left off.

"Takashi?" Honey said softly.

"Hm?"

"Do you think Kyo-chan is seeing it now? Seeing that Kao-chan likes Saku-chan?"

"Yeah." Mori said, putting the flyer down and glancing back and forth from the boys.

"It's unfortunate, huh? That they both feel so strongly about her but, in the end, only one can have her. Kinda reminds you of Hika-chan and Tama-chan about Haru-chan, huh?"

"Yeah."

"It seems like there's to many issues in this club." Honey frowned, "We're all so happy right now, as if everything's fine with the world. Keeping everything bottled up, but eventually, someone's gonna explode and everything'll start to fall apart. I don't want the Host Club to break up, Takashi."

"Me neither."

"But what can we do?" He looked around the room.

"Not much."

Honey merely sighed as he felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

* * *

Reviews are love, critique is welcome, and flamers will be sent to thier fiery graves.


	28. Expressions

_ So...I'm still getting reviews on this story and Accidentally in Love. lol. I get e-mails pretty often saying 'New Review on ect. ect' and I say to myself "I should probably continue with those..." I got seriously distracted since the last time I worked on this story and then...well, I never got back to it. I started getting new interest. In August, I fell in LOVE with this j-pop group called Arashi and they pretty much took over my life. Anime got pushed aside slightly as well as my anime stories and I started focusing more on my graphics and some Arashi related stories. But, considering how people keep asking me to update (and since I am a die-hard Ouran fan...) I figure I shouild finish this story. And...believe it or not I STILL kidna remember what I was gonna do. lol. And, believe it or not, I still have the last chapter written and saved...collecting dust in Microsoft Word.

But anyway, I'm updating and I'll try to stay up on this, as people are asking for it and when I write, I write for readers. So *shrug* hopefully, you guys will still accept me, if not...I totally understand. (m)(-_-)(m) Gomen ne ~

* * *

30:

(Wednesday)

What is it about guys with glasses that some girls like so much? Do glasses really make you smarter? What EXACTLY is so cute about twins? So they look the same, and? Why do girls like the prince charming type? The perfect faces, perfect bodies, the perfect EVERYTHING. Isn't that just annoying? Questions like these and several others circled Sakura's head for most of the host club period the next day. Why she was having such thoughts, the girl herself didn't even know, but they were there and they wouldn't go away for anything. These thoughts did not help her hosting and it certainly didn't help with her literature contest entry...or the songs she was supposed to be writing.

"I need to start those..." She mumbled to herself as she poured a cup of tea.

"What was that, Sakura-chan?" Questioned her customer.

"Eh?" She looked at her and shook her head, laughing slightly, "Ah, it's nothing. Just...mental notes to myself is all. I've been very busy lately." The girl gently put down the teapot and put her hands in her lap, "School is enough, and then I have the contest I'm in, and the songs I have to write. How much can a high school student take before feeling as though her head will burst?"

The girls around her frowned and cooed words of comfort to Sakura. At a nearby table, the Hitachiin twins were entertaining customers of their own.

"We have new tea flavors today." Hikaru smiled, "Today we have a hazelnut vanilla mixture and a scintillating raspberry melon. Which would you like?"

"The hazelnut vanilla sounds delicious."

"I think I'll have the raspberry melon."

Kaoru nodded to both of them and poured them their respective teas. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Sakura, head bowed.

_Why is she so upset? Maybe it's just an act, but that face looks so real. I don't think..._

"Kaoru-kun, the tea!" exclaimed the brunette sitting across from him.

"Hm?" He glanced back at the cup he was pouring to see that it had over-flowed was spilling over onto the table cloth,

"Ah!"

Kaoru immediately released the tea pot and it clattered onto the table. Miraculously, the pot itself didn't fall over, but the spout knocked into the cup and made it spill onto the customer's lap. A screamed emitted from her mouth and she jumped up, bumping the table and making the still teapot tip and fall over. The top popped open and it was only a matter of moments before Kaoru had a lap full of scorching hot tea on his lap.

"Ah!" He shot up and gritted his teeth. _Damn it, it burns..._

Hikaru, wide eyed, stood up, "Kaoru!"

"Ahh..." Kaoru shut his eyes and shook his head, "I-I'm okay. It just hurts a little."

"Do you need to see the nurse?" Hikaru questioned, sincerely concerned and not putting up an act for the sake of host club activities.

"No, I'm alright. It's just tea." Kaoru finally opened his eyes and looked at his brother.

"But that's a serious burn. You--"

Hikaru was silenced when a thin finger was placed over his finger. Kaoru smiled softly, "I'm okay, oniichan*." (*oniichan - polite way of referring to your older brother. Hikaru is the older twin after all)

It was the use of the word 'oniichan' that sent the twins' customers and anyone within a 7 foot radius of their table into a squealing frenzy. Even the customer with tea on her lap and the girl who sat next to her were on their feet, gripping each other's hands and squealing loudly. Hikaru, at seeing the reaction of the surrounding customers, took Kaoru's hand into his and looked him in the eyes. Kaoru, believe it or not, was lost for a minute, unsure as to why his brother was going to continue pressing the subject, but the extremely emotional look in his eyes made the younger twin realize what was going on and he rolled his eyes _You're an idiot, Hikaru. _Kaoru had no choice but to go along with it, so he took his brother's hand and put on a soft, innocent expression.

"Hikaru, stop. You need to focus on the customer. Look at her, she has brown tea all over her pretty dress." Kaoru looked at her, "Let's get something to clean her up."

"You first, Kaoru. You always come first."

Kaoru's bottom lip quivered and his eyes widened a little, "Oniichan..."

And Hikaru pulled him into a tight hug. Only host club customers held the possible ability of breaking the sound barrier, and that moment, they just might have. Kaoru, stilled wrapped by his brother, whispered into his ear, "Hikaru, we really do need to help the customer."

"I know." Hikaru whispered back, "Just trying to make this looked staged so Tono doesn't get to mad at us later."

Kaoru sniggered, "Good idea."

The twins finally pulled away from each other and turned thier attention to the soiled dress of thier customer. With the assitance of some other host club customers, the girl was changed into a new uniform and activities continued on like normal. Come the end of the period, Kaoru made his way over to Sakura who was clearing off her table and bading good-bye to her designators.

"Sakura-chan?" He said and put a hand on her back, then circled around and stood in front of her.

"Oh, hi. How's your burn?" She questioned and looked at his stained uniform.

"I wasn't burned." Kaoru said, the annoyance from repeatedly being asked the question clear in his voice, "It was just really really hot."

Sakura sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, looking him dead in the eye, "You can't lie to me, Hittachiin Kaoru."

"I'm not lying. I wasn't burnt. I'd know if I was."

"Kaoru..."

Kaoru stared down at the girl, hoping she'd stand down. But when she held her postion, he let out a sigh and took a step back, "Alright, it did burn, okay? But don't tell anyone. Especially not Hikaru. I don't want him to worry."

Sakura smiled triumphantly, "I won't."

"Thank-you." Kaoru put a hand in his pocket, "I came over to ask you something."

"Okay. What is it?"

The younger twin blew out a breath and crossed one foot behind the other, "I spilled the tea because I was looking at you. You looked sad. Were you okay?"

Sakura stared blankly at him, blinking a few times, "Uhh--I..."

She let out a sigh and sat back in the nearest seat. Kaoru stepped forward and looked down at her,

"Sakura-chan?"

"I've just been really busy." She put on a smile and looked at him, "It's stressing me out. Schoolwork, the contest, the songs. It's a lot of work."

"You've got to try to take it easier." Kaoru said, "You could make yourself sick."

"I know. I know. Kyoya, Haruhi, and my parents all tell me the same thing. But I can't take it easier if I have everything piling on top of me."

Kaoru knelt down in front of her so that he was looking up at her, "You can't just take a break from everything for a while?"

Sakura frowned and shook her head, "I wish I could." She gently touched the top of Kaoru's hair and tousled his hair a little.

Kaoru closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the feel of her soft hands, then focused in on her again, "Then how about...a one night vacation?"

Sakura's brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"Just take a whole night for nothing but things you want to do. Then get a good night's sleep...and come back tomorrow. You'll be in much better shape."

Sakura smiled softly, "I can't."

Kaoru promptly stood up and pulled Sakura up with him, "You can, and you will. You, me, Hikaru, and Haruhi are...we'll...there's a carnival tonight! Yeah. At the site where the old shopping mall used to be, there's a huge carnival. Me, and Haruhi, and Hikaru went to one once. It was a lot of fun, I think you'd like it."

Sakura laughed a little, "I've been to a carnival before, Kaoru, I'm more familiar with commoner festivals than you are." She stood up from the chair and returned to the table, "And I HAVE to do that song tonight, otherwise Kyouya will---"

"Will you forget about Kyouya for once?" Kaoru interuptted, "Forget about Kyouya and your obligations. Your schoolwork, studies, writings, the literary contest, just--"

"HEY, now it's you and your brother's fault that I'm in that contest!" Sakura protested.

"Whatever, the point here is that...you just need a break, and we're going to give it to you. Haruhi, Hikaru, and I will come by your house tonight and take you with us to the carnival okay? So be ready."

Sakura let out a sigh and nodded, "Okay, fine, you win. I'll be ready."

Sakura was not one to go back on her word, and so, that night, just as she said she would be, she was ready, waiting in the upstairs lobby (because every mansion has a freakin' upstairs LOBBY) for Kaoru to knock on her door. But she couldn't be completely unproductive that night. Despite the twin's insisting that she take it easy for a little while. She had to do something. So she started on her next song.

"Uhh...wait, who's song was this again?" She said and tapped the pencil against the table, "Umm...I've done Tamaki-senpai's, Honey-senpai's, the entire group's song..."

"The twins' song is next."

Sakura jumped, nearly falling out of her seat out of shock of hearing someone's voice out of nowhere. And not just anyone's voice. Kyoya's voice. He was standing in the doorway, a math book in the crook of his arm. He stepped farther in, pushing his glasses up.

"Next is the twins' song, then Mori-senpai, then myself. You've got quite a while to go before this project is through."

Sakura simply nodded, "Clearly..." It took her a couple moments to register what Kyoya's appearence implied. She had a tutoring session tonight. When she reaized this, her expression faded to that of worry. She stood up, "Um..K-kyoya-kun...are you absolutely certain that I had tutoring today?"

Kyoya found a seat near her and opened up the mathbook, "Absolutely certain. I even reminded you earlier today."

Sakura thought back to school, trying to remember when during the day Kyoya had reminded her. Nothing was coming. All she could remember was the tea incident with Kaoru and his invitation to the carnival. Nothing involving Kyoya came to mind.

"Am I really that forgetful...?" She mumbled to herself.

"Obviously."

She shot a glare at Kyoya who smirked, "My apologies."

"Yeah yeah..."

She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. She was only annoyed for a second, however, as she heard the doorbell ring. One of the maid's footsteps could be heard going to the front door and the door could be heard opening. 3 voices. 3 pairs of footsteps up the stairs. Sakura looked at Kyoya who seemed completely unfazed. He merely looked to the doorway to see who the visitors would be. It wasn't long before Haruhi and the twins appeared. Haruhi wore a light purple kimono, decorated with darker purple flowers. In her hair was a matching flower hair clip. The twins' outfits were nearly identical, jeans, t-shirts, and a vest, but the colors of the vests differed. Kaoru was in blue while Hikaru was in red. Kyoya arched an eyebrow at seeing the group.

"Why are you here?" He questioned.

Kaoru looked at him, a puzzled expression on his face, "I could ask you the same thing."

"Sakura has tutoring tonight."

"She's going to the carnival with us."

And that's when the tense silence fell.

_Of course it HAD to be Kaoru who'd spoken. There just HAD to be a confrontation between the two. But then again, it was unavoidable. But at the same time, Haruhi could've said something. Or Hikaru. WHY Kaoru? _

Sakura stepped forward and clapped her hands together, "I---I guess I got my plans mixed up." She looked back and forth from the group to Kyoya, "Apparently I had tutoring tonight..."

"You can reschedule, can't you?" Kaoru said, finally tearing his eyes away from Kyoya, "You need this break, Sakura-chan."

"You have a test coming up, do you not?" Kyoya pointed out, standing up, "You should study."

"I'm in that class. The test isn't until next week Thursday." Kaoru protested, "She'll have plenty of time to study another day."

"You're not aware of her math grades, are you?"

"Why do you know them in the first place? That's not your place."

"Her grade could jeporadize her membership in the Host Club. I believe it is my place."

"Controlling her study schedule isn't--"

The argument was abruptly interuptted when Sakura stepped forward and linked her arm with Kaoru's. He looked at her. She wasn't smiling. She wasn't even looking at him or Kyoya. Rather, her gaze was directed to the floor. Kyoya let out a sigh.

"Sakura-chan, you--"

"Kyoya...I promised Kaoru I'd go to the carnival. And he's right, I need a break. You've got me so busy with the club, and then I have my schoolwork on top of it. I need a break." She took in a deep breath, "So, Kyoya, can you please go home?"

Hikaru smiled, proud. As did Haruhi. Kaoru kept his expression emotionless. Sakura still refused to look at Kyoya, clearly scared to meet his eyes. Those eyes that could be enraged. Mischevious. Vindictive. Any of the many emotions Kyoya could express with a simple gaze. However, Kyoya's expression was none of the above. Rather...amusement. And perhaps...pride? Something in his expression, Kaoru noticed, was similar to Hikaru's. Something in his face said 'I'm proud of you'. It puzzled Kaoru, but before he could further examine his expression to try and figure it out, Kyoya had collected up his books and walked out the door, brushing Sakura's shoulder with his finger as he left. Sakura let out the breath she was holding, then looked up at Kaoru, her expression suddenly bright.

"Alright, let's go."

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And there it is. Kyoya...proud of Sakura? For what exactly? Think hard and you'll figure it out. Why was Hikaru proud of Sakura? There ya go. I knew you could figure it out. lol. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. I promise to stay up on this story. I really do want to finish it. And hopefully you'll all stay with me.


	29. Carnival Night

I'd like to point out a slip-up in my writing of the previous chapter. ^_^" When Kyoya appeared, he said that the next song to be written was the twins' song. That was actually wrong. The twins' song is already written and recorded. If you remember back to the spring break arc where Sakura and Kyoya had that argument, Sakura was writing the song with Kaoru, which means that it's already written. And then, in chapter 29 when the twins announced that Sakura was in the literary contest, it was noted that the twins were late to the studio and they needed to hurry up because they were recording Tamaki's song AND their song in one day because the schedule got messed up when Sakura got kidnapped by Lobelia.

SOO, that means we're actually on to the next song which is Kyoya's, Tsumetai Yoru. Then after Kyoya will be Mori. So, when I mention in the chapter AFTER this one that Sakura's writing Tsumetai Yoru, you'll know what I'm talking about. I would also like to note that Haruhi and Sakura's songs (yes, Sakura gets a song ^_^) are NOT going to be from the anime soundtrack. More details on that later. For now, next chapter! The twins, Haruhi, and Sakura at the carnival. This chapter is LONG. 3000something words.

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31: Carnival Night

Multi-colored lanterns were strung all around, shining light on the various game stands, rides, and shopping carts. Streamers hung from tall lantern posts, different symbols written on each. Each stand was unique in some way, be it color of the car itself or the sign above it. But amongst all of it, there was one focal point to the entire scene and that was the Ferris wheel in the distance. It spun slowly, creating a circle of bright, colorful lights. The girls smiled at the sight of it. The boys stood behind them, examining the various stands and games.

"It's HUGE!" Haruhi exclaimed excitedly, "Wow…"

"It's up so high." Sakura tilted her head up, "I can barely see the top. You could probably get an amazing view of the city from up there."

"I can't wait to ride it."

"Well, aren't you excited, Haruhi-kun?" Sakura looked at her smiling, "I haven't seen you this excited in a while."

Haruhi shrugged a little. Sakura directed her attention to Kaoru who was already making his way over to one the games. Sakura jogged after him.

"Where are you going?" She said, grabbing his arm.

Kaoru glanced at her for no more than a second before turning back to the game. It was a simple game where you throw the rings and try to get them over the bottles. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, but Kaoru's wide-eyed expression said that he'd never seen anything like it before. Sakura put her face in her hand, laughing a little as Kaoru closely examined one of the rings.

"This wasn't at the last carnival." Kaoru said, "I want to try."

"Then try." Sakura chuckled, "But it's not as easy as it looks."

Kaoru handed the game manager some money and held up the ring to his face, pinpointing where he was going to throw it, "It looks easy. I can do it. No way I'll loose."

"Good luck with that."

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and watched as Kaoru failed to get any of the rings over the bottles. One would think it'd be over, but anyone familiar with the Hitachiin twins knows just how determined they can be. Kaoru immediately purchased more rings and tried again, only to fail. Sakura rolled her eyes and paid for some rings herself, then shoved Kaoru aside.

"Okay, my turn." She said and held the ring up to her face to aim.

"It's impossible to win that." Kaoru crossed his arms over his chest.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Yeah, we'll see about that."

Carefully aiming, Sakura gently tossed the ring. Lo and behold, it landed right on the bottle top, earning her a point. Kaoru watched in awe as she proceeded to get all but one.

"That one, please." She pointed to giant stuffed puppy, "Thanks."

Smiling, she held the puppy to her face, examining it's face. A cute little smile with big black eyes. It seemed to be saying 'Good job! You deserve me!'. Sakura hugged it against her and looked at Kaoru who was trying the game again. Sakura shook her head.

"I am not spending my entire night at this game, Kaoru." She said, "Come on, there's other games you can try."

"I wanna win this one though!" He said and tossed a ring.

Sakura let out a sigh, rolling her eyes, then grabbed the back of Kaoru's vest and yanked him away. Kaoru fought for not more than 10 seconds before giving in and demanding that Sakura let go. After promising her that he would not run back over, she released him and they continued down the row of the games.

"Where did Haruhi and Hikaru go?" Sakura questioned as she paid the fee for the water gun shooting game.

"Hikaru probably dragged her to try out some new kind of food." Kaoru paid for his gun, then aimed at the target, "He's been interested in a lot of commoner foods lately. Ever since the take-out at the studio."

Sakura put her dog down on the ground and held it between her legs, then took hold of her water gun and aimed for her target, "That was funny. I can't believe you guys thought you really had to use paper."

Kaoru didn't allow himself to blush or show any embarrassment, he simply nodded and waited for the countdown timer to reach zero, "I can win this."

"It's not as easy at looks." Sakura carefully watched the timer. 10, 9, 8, 7, "You have to hit the dot EXACTLY or your meter won't go up."

"I know. I know." 6, 5, 4, 3…

"Ready…and…" Sakura put her finger over the trigger, "Go!"

Sakura was right. It wasn't as easy as the direction chart above the meters made it seem. In fact, neither of the students managed to fill their meter before the timer was done. But, Kaoru's had filled up about an inch more than Sakura's. Sakura let out a moan of defeat as Kaoru was handed a small stuffed bulldog.

"Ahh, I lost ~" Sakura said, picking up her prize from the previous game.

"The prize kinda sucks though." Kaoru held the dog up in front of his face, "It's so tiny."

Sakura plucked the dog out of the palm of his hand and put it on the ground, then put her giant stuffed dog on the ground in front of it and smiled.

"They're mother and son." She nodded proudly, "So it works."

"How a Labrador Retriever has a Bulldog for a son, I'll never know." Kaoru said and picked up his prize as Sakura doubled over in laughter, "Next game?"

"No, let's get some food, I'm hungry."

"Okay."

Hikaru wasn't the only one who was interested in commoner foods now. Kaoru was determined to try one of everything at the carnival. He wanted *Gyoza, he wanted Yakitori*, he wanted Tonkatsu*, Okonomiyaki*. He wanted EVERYTHING.

(*Gyoza – Dumplings filled with minced meat and veggies. Came to Japan from China and, in Japan, it's usually fried *Yakitori – grilled chicken put on skewers. Kinda like shish kabobs. *Tonkatsu – Deep friend pork cutlets. *Okonomiyaki – a cross between a pizza and pancake. Seafood, veggies, or meat get mixed in with the dough and the whole thing gets fried, then it's topped with something, usually whatever was in the dough, but a lot of times with cabbage. There's a Japanese lesson for ya ;) )

"Kaoru, you're going to run out of money before we even finish the games!" Sakura said as the boy ordered yet another serving of Gyoza.

Kaoru greedily took it, then ate 2 at once before looking at Sakura, cheeks puffed out, "I've got plenty of money with me. It's fine."

"Then you're gonna get so full that you won't be able to walk. And I won't be waiting for you. Don't think for a second that I won't get on that Ferris wheel just because you're not there."

Kaoru rolled his eyes and downed the remaining three dumplings, then through the paper plate in the garbage and brushed his hands off, "Okay, I'm done. And what's this about the Ferris wheel? I thought we were finishing the games first?"

"After the Ferris wheel." She said and started walking towards it, "Keep an eye out for Haruhi and Hikaru, so they can ri---Oh look!"

Sakura deviated off the main walkway to a stand selling various fruits. Kaoru, hands deep in his pockets, walked up next to her and watched her finger through the various fruits on display. She smiled as her hand landed on a peach and she picked it up.

"I'm getting this. I love peaches." She picked up 3 more and handed the cashier the money.

Kaoru simply shrugged, having no opinions about a fruit as simple as a peach.

"You know what else I love about them?"

"What?"

Sakura held one up in front of his face, "If you look close enough…doesn't it kinda look like a heart? A peach is a heart-shaped fruit."

Kaoru examined it carefully, mentally tracing it to find the heart shape. When he found it, he smiled a little and nodded, "It is."

"And more than that, peaches and strawberries and all of those are fruits of summer. And I love summer."

Kaoru nodded, "I see."

She put her peaches in a plastic bag, then put the bag into her shoulder bag and the two continued following the main path to the Ferris wheel. They failed to locate Haruhi and Hikaru, so the two waited in line together and when they got to the front, they boarded the two passenger gondola. As they were one of the last couples to board, the ride started up fairly quickly. Sakura held onto the bar and looked to the side as they went higher and higher into the air.

"Wah ~ What a view…I haven't ridden a Ferris wheel in so long" She said nostalgically, "I wonder if we'll stop at the top."

Kaoru looked down over his feet at all of the game stands and food carts on the grounds. He smiled a little, "This is only my second time. The first time wasn't any fun because Hikaru kept rocking the gondola."

Sakura laughed a little, "Then I'm glad we didn't find him and Haruhi."

The ride started to slow down some as their gondola was reaching the top. Sakura glanced behind the gondola and ahead, a big smile on her face, "I think we may stop right at the top!"

"Is that a good thing?"

"It's a great thing! The best view is from the top. Did that not happen to you and Hikaru when you rode?"

"It was actually me, Hikaru, AND Haruhi. And no, we didn't stop at the top. We were around the middle." Kaoru explained.

"Ahh…"

The ride came to a stop and, just as Sakura predicted, they were stopped at the very top. From there, the two had a perfect view of the carnival grounds and the rest of the city. With lights strung like Christmas tree lights and small squares of lights visible in the skyscraper windows, it was something like a movie: a perfect nighttime scene. Sakura leaned back in the gondola and closed her eyes, letting out a sigh of contentment. Kaoru leaned back as well and also let out a sigh, but rather than a sigh of contentment, a sigh of longing. A longing that first manifested itself as discontentment that day in the host club where Kyoya first kissed Sakura. That discontentment that was unexplainable until that night at the summer house when he held her. The discontentment that became longing when Hikaru approved of his feelings for Sakura. A longing that began its' slow transformation to love when she fell asleep in his arms.

Since then, however, he'd been forced to suppress that feeling of longing. The one he longed for belonged to someone else. Though it was hard, Kaoru admitted to that and accepted it. However, he didn't exactly approve of the one she belonged to. His way of treating her was bad in Kaoru's mind. And he wanted her to see that. But it wasn't his place to point it out. Or was it? As a friend, it's only right that he point it out. Realizing that, to an extent, Sakura's well being depending on her knowing the truth, he let out a breath and gently touched Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura-chan, I---"

"Is it normal to hate the person you love?"

Kaoru blinked a few times, confused. He moved his hand from her shoulder, "Huh?"

Sakura looked at him, "Is it normal to hate the person you love?" She repeated.

Kaoru shook his head, "I-I don't really get what you're asking…"

"Kyoya…in all honesty he's the type of person that I absolutely DESPISE. He's cruel and manipulative, quiet and dark." Sakura shook her head, "And, because of that, I feel like I absolutely hate him. But then, at the same time, I see the other side of him. The nicer, sweeter side. There's a side that likes to have fun and likes to be happy. That's the side I'm drawn to, but his darker side covers it so much that I feel like I want to kill him. So it's like…I hate him and love him at the same time."

She let out a sigh and leaned on the safety bar, looking down at the carnival grounds, "Those kinds of feelings can't be healthy. My stomach is always lurching and my heart is always pounding. My head hurts, I feel numb. I feel like hitting something. Anything. It's such a…a disaster inside me. A war zone. And when you mix in the stress from school and the host club…it's amazing I haven't gotten a fever or something."

Kaoru was silent, processing what she was saying. Trying to somehow understand how she was feeling. But it was such an odd feeling she had. Something that Kaoru was unfamiliar with. Something that he didn't know how to deal with. For once, the counselor was without words. Without an analysis or solution. He let out a sigh and rubbed his hands together.

"I'm having a difficult time trying to fully understand what you're feeling…but what I think…when you care about someone, then you shouldn't have such a mix of emotions. It shouldn't be so hard on you that you feel like hitting something or someone." He spoke as the words came to him, not taking a second to think about what was being said, "Someone you love is someone who makes you happy, not stresses you out. Someone you like being next to, not someone who makes your stomach lurch. Even if there is a dark outside, you can see the light inside and not let the dark bother you."

Sakura turned her head to face Kaoru while still leaning on the bar. Kaoru took a deep breath, pursing his lips together.

"You have to realize that it's not love you're feeling. And I think the easiest way for a person to realize that is if there's someone else around who keeps drawing their attention. That other person drawing the attention…is always around. You like being around that person a lot. You confide in them, you love talking to them, you like the idea of them being around. All of that is just a cover up. It's covering the fact that way down inside, you truly care for that person and love them."

"So…say there's a group of boys, and then there's a girl." Sakura said and sits upright, "What should we name them…we'll call the girl Naomi. Let's say Naomi is currently involved with one of the boys, we'll call him Ninomiya. And let's also say that Naomi is really close with another boy, Aiba."

Kaoru nodded, "Okay."

"Naomi claims to love Ninomiya. But in terms of friendship, she's closest to Aiba. She can't imagine her life without Aiba. She keeps being drawn to him. She realizes that no matter what idiotic mistakes Aiba makes, she still adores him. How does that make her realize that she doesn't love Ninomiya?"

"Naomi slowly begins to forget about Ninomiya as her relationship with Aiba grows." Kaoru began, "She can't explain her closeness. The something happens that makes Naomi realize that she didn't love Ninomiya. Ninomiya was more of a placeholder in her heart. She realizes that Aiba is really supposed to be there."

Sakura shook her head, "Now, wait a minute. You changed your point!"

"I did?"

"Yeah. You said at first that the other person helps you realize that you're not in love. But in the scenario you just described, Naomi realized that it wasn't that she didn't love Ninomiya, it was that she loved Aiba. Say she's not really in love with Aiba. How can someone else help her realize that? Or are you saying that you don't realize you're not in love unless you fall in love with someone else?"

Kaoru pondered what Sakura said and laughed a little, "Hah…you're right. I did change my point."

Sakura nodded, "Mhm. But, I get what you're trying to say. You need another force in your life to help you realize what's right and wrong. Who you love and who you hate. And should that force happen to be your true true love, then all the better. Right?"

Kaoru nodded, smiling, "Right."

"So then…in my case, the person who helps me realize that I'm not truly in love is you."

Kaoru's smile faded and he looked at her, an expression of innocent confusion on his face, "I am?"

"You are. Well, you and Haruhi, really. My voices of reason. The ones who draw my attention away. The ones who, no matter what stupid things you do, I can't help but still love. Unfortunately, you're not the ones who can help me realize who my true true love is. Our situation is like Aiba and Naomi."

Kaoru simply nodded, "Yeah…I guess…"

"We're moving again." Sakura said as the wheel started rotating again, "When we get off, let's go find Hikaru and Haruhi, okay?"

"Okay."

------

That was A LOT of talking…and typing. My fingers are tired _ But I hope you still enjoyed it. As you can see, she doesn't know who she's in love with. And we've still got a number of chapters to go before she finally figures it out. So, you guys are in for a roller coaster of events and emotions with this Ouran story! Keep checking for updates. ^_^


	30. Hanami

I got sick…really really REALLY sick. That's what postponed this update. Sorry! :bow:

Anyway, remember the manga Renge published and the Host Club acted out in Chapter 24 right before Sakura got kidnapped by Lobelia? It's back. =p And also, I'm revising the story. Going back to the earlier chapters and re-writing so that sounds better and isn't so..well..crappy. lol. So, if you want, you check those out as I get them done. So far I've finished and put up the first 2 chapters.

Now enjoy chapter. Over 3,700 words!

---

**_32: Hanami_**

"What did you think would happen, Mitsukuni? After your treachery…" Sakura growled, staring the boy in the face.

The blonde's eyes narrowed and he bowed his head slightly, hiding his face beneath the brim of his hat. Sakura waited silently for his response. After a few moments passed, the blonde let out a low chuckle. A low, spine-tingling maniacal chuckle.

"It's surprising, Sakura-san, that you found out." He said, still chuckling, "I would've never thought that someone like you would figure it out."

"You thought I was stupid?" Sakura clenched her fists, "Are you not aware of who I am? My wits, my power…my connections? I rule the underground of Tokyo, Mitsukuni, and you actually thought that you, an underling of Tamaki, would be able to surpass me? Really, now, who's the foolish one?"

"Certainly not I. Neither of us are fools. We're both very intelligent people." He looked up, mischievous, amused glint in his eye, "For me to come up with a plan that nearly worked and for you to figure it out and corner me. Neither of us are fools, I believe."

Not a soul in the Third Music Room moved. None spoke. No one even seemed to be breathing. Wide-eyed and gripping their tea cups, the customers watched in anticipation as the scene they were all too familiar with unfolded.

"Fine. Neither are fools, but one of us is the wiser, and that's me." she said.

"I'll admit to that."

"Mind you, my friend, being humble now will not spare your life." Her hand slipped into her trench coat pocket. A few gasps echoed throughout the room, "To set the records straight, explain what you did and why. Are you truly humble enough to admit to such low deeds?"

Honey let out a sigh and bowed his head slightly, turning on his heel to face the customers. The girls leaned forward in their seats, most of them ready to coo the baby faced criminal and tell him it was alright.

"I tried and failed." He began in a low tone, "I wanted to shut down not only Sakura-san's club, but my own leader's as well."

Gasps filled the air.

"Honey-senpai! Such a dark side of you! I've never seen it before…"

"Oh why, senpai?!"

"Please, spare him Sakura-san!"

"It's so hard to watch, but I can't look away!"

Honey continued, "The plan was simple enough. Turn leaders against each other. They were already against each other from the start, yes, but not enough to want to see the other's demise. But that's what I wanted to see. By simply planting threats and traps, slowly the leaders of these opposing clubs were being pushed to hatred for each other. Hatred so great that…they wanted to kill. I wanted to push them to such lengths so I could then take over. But you, Sakura-san, you stopped me."

Sakura's hand closed around the weapon in her pocket as she noticed Honey reach into his own trench coat pocket, "A slip on my part. I left behind a pink rose pedal. Knowing that my rose color was pink, you found me out. But I don't want to fall. I don't want to fall so easily."

Honey's hand tightened around the weapon in his pocket and he snatched it out, then whipped around and pointed the silver revolver directly at her chest. Instead of gasps, there were screams. Customers jumped from their seats, gripped by fear. The lights in the room suddenly dimmed (thanks to Kyoya standing near the light switch) and a low, old 30's mob tune began to play (thanks to Kaoru's control of the boom box which he had on a table near the back of the room near one of the curtained windows) Sakura smirked slightly and slowly revealed her revolver as well.

"Seems like this is a matter of who's fastest on the trigger." Sakura said.

Honey's hand twitched slightly and he gripped tighter, his face growing serious. His finger slowly pulled on the trigger.

"Stop it, Mitsukuni!"

The shout caused him to release the trigger and look around for the owner of the voice. Mori appeared from a corner, dressed in a dark black trench coat and a matching hat. There were a few girls who squealed at the sight of Mr. Dark and Mysterious. In contrast, Honey was dead silent, teeth clenched, and he took a step back, then immediately turned the gun on Mori.

"Stay out of this, Takashi!"

"There's no point to this, Mitsukuni." Mori said calmly, "Who are you to use that weapon? You've never needed it. And you don't need it now."

Honey's hand began to tremble, "This is life or death, Takashi…"

"In doing this you'll only end your own life."

The customers were now on their feet, tightly gripping each other's hands and arms.

"Such a dramatic development!"

"Morinozuka has to stop him! He's the only one!"

"They're both giving such great performances! Especially Honey-kun!"

"It's all so believable!"

Sakura arched an eyebrow and resisted the urge to roll her eyes _Yeah, because we can all see Honey pointing a gun at Mori in real life…_

The sound of footsteps bounced off the marble floor and echoed through out the large room as Tamaki walked up beside Sakura, his hands in his pockets, "That's enough, Mitsukuni." He said calmly and held out his hand, "Give me the gun."

"No…" he replied darkly.

Sakura lowered her weapon, "It's over. Just give it to him. Your life's been spared thanks to these two."

Honey's entire arm began to tremble and his face showed panic and distress. His jaw quivered violently and his eyes darted dramatically around his immediate area as he saw Kyoya, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi all appeared around him. There was no place to run or turn. He collapsed to his knees in defeat and bowed his head. The customers loosened their grips and slowly began to sit back down, feeling relieved. A conclusive air drifted over the third music room.

"I—I'm sorry…but…but…"

Tamaki took a step forward to take the gun. Sakura let out a sigh of relief and pocketed her gun once again and looked at her underlings, the twins and Haruhi, nodding slightly. They smiled slightly in response and moved over to their leader. Kyoya took a step past Honey and over to Mori, nodding respectfully to him. Tamaki was a mere step away from Honey when the blonde suddenly shot up, gun in hand. Panic gripped the customers; fear constricted their throats, refusing them the pleasure of speech. The armed host stood, his hand shaking and pointing the weapon in every direction. Madness had taken over, contorting the humble, lovable face everyone knew into that of a killer.

"But I can't back down that easily!"

He clearly wasn't aiming. He just wanted someone other than himself to fall when he pulled the trigger. Someone did indeed fall. The leader cloaked in white stood motionless for a minute as he realized who'd been hit, then collapsed to the floor. Fear released them and the customers emitted high-pitched screeches as they saw the prince fall. Hikaru and Kaoru rushed over and immediately grabbed Honey, managing to get the gun from his hand. Sakura knelt down at Tamaki's side, a distraught look on her face.

"Tamaki! Tamaki!"

Tamaki, with the little conciousness he had left, looked at Sakura with soft eyes, "Somehow, I saw this coming. Better…me…than you? R-right…?"

"No. No! That's wrong it's not—it's…"

He reached up, touching the side of her face. Her eyes swam with tears as she placed her shaking hand atop his "Thrive. Live on with your club. Live on with e-everything…you…have---"

His hand remained near her face for no more than a moment before it fell to the floor limply. Slowly, his eyes closed. The prince was gone. Sakura was shaking slightly. Customers screamed. Cried. Fainted. Hikaru had to force himself not to let out a loud cackle at seeing about 10 girls hit the floor. Sakura gripped Tamaki's coat and put her face in his chest, pretending to sob. After a few moments of crying from Sakura and mournful glances among the remaining hosts, the lights rose again and the music stopped. Sakura sat up, a broad grin on her face as she wiped the forced tears from her eyes. Tamaki opened his eyes and sat up, replacing the hat that had fallen and smiling as well. The twins released Honey who took off his hat and put the gun on the floor. As the hosts all positioned themselves in a line, there was a thunder of applause from the customers. The Hosts bowed once. Twice. And then again before Tamaki put his hands up, silencing the crowd almost instantly.

"I hope you enjoyed our show and your time in the host club today." He said, "Before we let you all leave, our resident musician has an announcement to make. Sakura-chan, if you would."

Excited murmurs filled the air as the fallen customers returned to their feet and found their seats again. Sakura removed her hat and tousled her a little before running her fingers through it to push it out of her face all together. As the murmurs quieted, she bowed slightly before speaking.

"At midnight, two new Host Club singles will be available for pre-order, Guilty Beauty Love sung by Tamaki-senpai and Bokura no Love Style sung by Hikaru and Kaoru. Tomorrow, you'll be able to get your pre-ordered copies from us after Host Club activities and those who choose not to pre-order will also be able to buy their copy then, but there will be a limited amount available then. I suggest you pre-order. Ringtones will be available the day after on the site."

Sakura raised her hands to keep the noise level low as excited murmurs began to float over the Host Club customers.

"I'm not done yet. I still have more news. To date, we've had one group song, a song by Honey, a song by Tama-chan, and a song by the twins. Next, we'll be Kyoya-senpai's song, followed by Mori-senpai, Haruhi-kun, and myself. When all the songs are out, we'll be releasing a special edition compilation of all the songs, plus videos from the recording studio. And, after that…we're having a live show!"

Excited chatter filled the room, "During the Ouran Festival 2 months from now in May, we'll put on a live show where we'll perform our songs. So please come and support us that day."

"AND!" Hikaru said suddenly, gaining confused looks from the rest of the hosts. He wasn't supposed to announce anything…"Immediately after the live show, we'll be moving into the Music Hall where the results of the Annual Literature Contest will be announced. Sakura-chan has entered. So let's all wish her luck and root for her to win!"

With news of new songs, contests, and concerts, Host Club activities ended on a high note that day. The customers, all a chatter, left the Third Music Room and the Hosts, all smiles, were left to straighten up the room and head off to class.

"Kyoya-senpai's song is next, right?" Haruhi questioned Sakura as the latter was clearing off tables, "Have you started it yet?"

"I have but…it's hard." Sakura shook her head, heaving a sigh, "I've started that song about 5 times now and I can't settle on one that suits him best. He's just so hard to write for."

"I'm not very good with songs or anything like that, but I could help you pick one if you'll show me." Haruhi offered.

But Sakura shook her head in disagreement, "It's alright, I'll figure it out on my own. I've done okay up to this point, right?"

Haruhi shrugged slightly and began to help her cousin clear tables. The room was silent for a few moments before a certain blonde stretched, letting out a long exaggerated sigh and put his hands on his hips.

"Today was marvelous, Hosts! It was such a thrill discovering my inner actor." Tamaki let out a dreamy sigh and dropped (quite gracefully) down onto one of the couches, "I believe I've found my calling. I can sing, I can act. The stage is my calling!"

"Well, you're certainly good at being dramatic." Haruhi mumbled, "You probably would do well in that kind of setting…"

"He would, wouldn't he?" Sakura nodded, laughing softly.

Haruhi smiled, nodding in agreement.

"We must consult Renge to prepare another manga!" Tamaki crossed one leg over the other and gazed nostalgically out the window, "Our customers thoroughly enjoyed that. I've seen them all smile on several occasion, but their smiles today…it gave off a different sort of feeling. It was a different kind of happiness. I'd like for them to feel that again…"

The room fell silent and the Host cast sideways glances at each other, expressions of pride on their faces. Tamaki was an idiot, as they'd all come to realize. But for an idiot, he was very caring. And he put what was important to him first. They all admired that aspect of him.

"Tama-chan." Honey said, picking up a few desert plates, "You're a good leader."

Tamaki looked away from the window, a slightly bewildered look on his face. The rest of the hosts smiled warmly at him and the leader smiled as well and nodded, "Thank-you, Mitsukuni."

"No problem!"

"Now! Let us discuss tomorrow's theme!" Tamaki stood up from the couch, his white trench coat flapping as he whipped around and faced the window once again.

"But we had a theme today." Hikaru noted.

"So tomorrow, we have no theme." Kaoru added, "That's how it always is, isn't it?"

"Dear Hosts…it's spring!" Tamaki threw his hands up, "A time of change! The weather is growing warmer, the flowers are blooming…what is one special springtime event that takes place every year and is the definition of all things happy and romantic?"

The hosts shot confused glances at each other. When he received no answer, Tamaki whipped around, "Come on now, you should know this!"

"And yet…we do not." Hikaru nodded, "And such is a sign that you haven't taught us well in the host club. You are a failure as a leader, Tono."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Hikaru, don't be so mean. Look, Tama-chan's all depressed now." She pointed to their leader who had assumed the fetal position on the floor. Hikaru chuckled and Sakura let out a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I think if anyone knows what he's referring to, it would be you Sakura-chan." Kyoya said suddenly, pushing his glasses up some like he always did.

Sakura arched an eyebrow, "Me?"

"You."

Sakura sat down at the table she was clearing and rested her chin in her hands, racking her brain to figure out this event that she supposedly was to be familiar with. For a good few minutes, nothing came to her and the hosts began to grow impatient. She let out a sigh and shook her head, looking at Haruhi.

"Haruhi, I have absolutely no idea wha…AH! Wait!" She stood up, "Wait, I think I know." She knelt down on the ground in front of Tamaki, "Tama-chan, are you talking about *Hanami?"

Tamaki shot up, nearly knocking Sakura over in the process, "Correct! Hanami, the viewing of the beautiful cherry blossoms that bloom during this season! A beautiful, joyful, romantic time that would be sure to make our customers happy. Tomorrow, we shall set our Host Club activities outside so customers can enjoy the viewing of the beautiful cherry blossom trees."

**(*Hanami (_花見_ 'flower viewing') is a custom in Japan and China of enjoying the cherry blossom trees that are in bloom. From mid January to early April, the cherry blossom trees are in bloom and the blooms last for a week or two. It is a custom to have a party beneath the cherry blossom trees and the parties are called _Hanami_. Kyoya noted that Sakura should know of the custom since her name is Sakura which means cherry blossom and Tamaki points it out as being romantic because cherry blossoms are a symbol of love and romance as well as springtime.)**

The hosts chatted excitedly amongst themselves about the idea. It was then decided that the group would meet up after school to discuss the details as they all had class in a matter of minutes. Kyoya had a Physics class and Tamaki had History, while Mori and Honey both had Chemistry. And finally, the freshman foursome had English. And so, they gathered their bags and books and headed out of the Third Music Room. Hikaru, the last one out, shut off the light and closed the door, then caught up with Sakura, Haruhi, and Kaoru and started towards their English class.

The hosts went their separate ways and the freshmen made it into the classroom and found their seats. Sakura, the moment she sat down, pulled out her notebook and a pen and started writing. Kaoru sat behind her.

"What're you writing?"

"My entry for the literary contest." She turned in her seat and shot Kaoru a glare, "That contest you and your brother signed me up for.

Hikaru sat down in the desk in front of her (despite the fact that it was actually Haruhi's seat) and turned so he was facing her, "You shouldn't be so mad at us anymore. You're going to win and get a cool prize. You should thank us."

"I'm not going to win." Sakura shook her head, "I'm not that good."

"That's not true. You're great at writing." Hikaru complimented, "What are you entering in the contest? Let me see."

Sakura let out a sigh and handed her notebook to the twin who then scanned over what was written, a total of 2 pages. When he was done, he nodded and handed it to her.

"I see…"

"What is it?" questioned Kaoru.

"A mystery." Sakura explained, "Two children, a brother and sister, lost their parents in a freak accident. But when they get older and the statue of limitations* is approaching they find out it wasn't an accident. So they set out to figure out what it really was."

**_(*statue of limitations is the point where a case is officially closed forever)_**

Kaoru nodded, smiling slightly, "Sounds very interesting."

"It's no good."

Sakura blinked a couple times, then looked up at the red-head who'd said such a cruel statement. Hikaru let out a sigh and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's no good." Hikaru repeated, "It's intriguing and everything but…it's not you. It's definitely not Sakura. You're not dark and morbid so why should your stories be?"

Sakura looked down at her notebook, tapping the pen against the paper. She was defeated. Completely. Hearing such words would do that to a person. However, at the same time, there was a feeling of relief inside her. As if she'd been waiting to be freed of her story. She nodded and tore out the 2 pages and crumbled them up.

"You're absolutely right." She put her pen to the paper, "I'll start over…"

"Write a love story." Haruhi suggested.

Sakura pursed her lips and tapped the pen against the paper, "Love story…."

After a few moments of silence, Sakura wrote in big letters at the top of the page 'Kimi no Hana' (Your Flower).

"Kimi no Hana." Haruhi read aloud, "What will it be about?"

"I don't know yet. All I know is that the title came to me because of Tono's idea about the Hanami festival at the Host Club." She closed the notepad, "And when we go outside tomorrow, I'll start writing then. That way I'll be inspired by the cherry blossoms."

--------

EDIT:: Sorry about the slip up in Sakura's story title. I'm still learning and I got the ordered mixed up. But, hey, we learn from our mistakes. lol.

And so ends the chapter! Very little happened, I know. It was more of a filler chapter that foreshadowed what was going to happen in future chapters. But the next chapter will definitely be more interesting. Possible confrontation between Sakura and Kyoya, an accident in which a certain host member gets hurt (and no it's not Sakura!)? Nobody knows what will happen (Hell, I don't even really know yet…) You'll just have to wait until chapter 33.

And btw, there was something I wanted to point out about Hanami, but I didn't want to in the actual chapter because it would clutter, so I'm saying it here.

An old proverb of Hanami is _'dumplings over flowers'_ which refers to the fact that people go to Hanami parties for the food rather than the flowers. The kanji (Japanese writing characters) for 'dumplings over flowers' (_花より団子_) means 'Hana Yori Dango' which is the title of the manga adapted drama that starred Matsumoto Jun and Inoue Mao! Cool huh? The author of the manga played with the kanji so that it reads as 'Boys Over Flowers' (_花より男子_) rather than 'dumplings over flowers' while still retaining the romanization of Hana Yori Dango. I always thought that was kinda cool. lol.


	31. Revising and Updating READ

So, after avoiding this story for so long I've decided to continue!

For the longest time, I've regretted not finishing this. But the task just seems so daunting to get back into the swing of this story that I kept putting it off. But to go with my current goal of revising things in my life and making myself better, I intend to revise and finish my stories! Believe it or not, I still have a sequal to this story collecting dust on my harddrive and I'd really like to see it posted and read =p So just a few things I want to let you guys (old and new readers) know about

**Things to Know (READ)**

- Before adding a new chapter, I intend to go through the ENTIRE story and re-write it. Revise it, clean it up, make it sound nice. It's like the special edition of a dvd: new content! I'll be adding in things that weren't in the original. That means new depth to the characters, more characters, more background, and an overall revision of the plot. So if you're an old reader MAKE SURE YOU READ THE REVISIONS! OR YOU'LL BE LOST IN UPCOMING CHAPTERS.

- I am in school, so be patient with me as I slowly go through this process. College life isn't easy and doesn't allow a whole lot of free time. But when I can, I will be working on this. I'll try to have the entire story revised and up by the middle of February.

- I AM NOT POSTING THE REVISIONS UNTIL THEY ARE ALL DONE. I'm not rewriting the whole story, so itll take less time to get it done then it would to write new chapters and put it up. Once I have everything revised and rewritten, I'll swap the content then put up another notice telling you to go read.

SO, add this story to your list of story you want to be alerted about and tell any other Ouran fans you may know.

An additional notice, fans of my other story 'Accidentally in Love', should anticipate a revision and repost of that as well. It's also something I plan to work on.

That's about it. As far as comments go, please let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see in the story and I'll consider adding it in. Words of excitement and encouragement are also welcome!


	32. NEW VERSION UP, PLEASE READ

I have officially decided to re-write this story all together, so if you want to read it, go to my account and click the NEW Mata Ashita link to read the first chapter. I won't be posting anything in this story anymore.


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